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Class. 
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COraRIGHT DEPOSm 

9 



A MANUAL 

IN 

ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

TO ACCOMPANY 

ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 
BOOK ONE 

BY 

LAMONT F. HODGE 

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
YONKERS, NEW YORK 

AND 

ARTHUR LEE 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
CLINTON, MISSOURI 



CHARLES E. MERRILL COMPANY 
NEW YORK CHICAGO 



\<\2.2- 



Copyright, 1922, 

BY 

CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 



RPR 18 '22 



0)C!.A659687 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Purpose of the Manual 5 

Reading List 8 

Oral Composition 11 

Written Composition 15 

Letter Writing 17 

Correct Usage 24 

Picture Study 28 

The Teaching of Memory Selections 31 

Work of Previous Years 37 

Lesson Helps 

Part One 41 

Fourth Year Standards 79 

Part Two 83 

Fifth Year Standards 106 

Part Three 110 

Sixth Year Standards 143 

Dictation Exercises 147 



THE PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL 

The purpose of this Manual is to help the teacher to use 
Hodge and Lee's Elementary English, Book One, in 
the most effective way in the classroom. The Manual aims 
to accomplish this purpose in two ways: first, by showing 
the teacher how to use the material in the textbook to the 
best advantage; and second, by providing additional mate- 
rial with which the teacher may supplement a lesson in the 
textbook as best seems to meet the needs of her particular 
class. 

The Manual shows the teacher how to make the best use 
of the material in the text in the following ways. 

1. By suggesting means of development j particularly in the 
early lessons; that is, methods of inductive development, 
mentioning definite things which the teacher can do or say 
to bring out the topic under discussion — things which can- 
not very well be included in a text intended for the pupils. 

2. By pointing out the purpose of the lesson. Sometimes 
a busy teacher misses the most important point of a lesson, 
and sometimes she fails to see that a lesson can be used to 
bring out more than one point. The Manual, therefore, 
presents to the teacher the aim which she is to keep con- 
stantly in mind during the lesson; or it presents various aims 
from which the teacher can choose the one best adapted to 
her class. 

3. By emphasizing the points which need special drill. 
Some phases of a topic will always require more stress than 
others. The Manual indicates the points which need drill 
and the points with which children usually have no diffi- 
culty. 

5 



6 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

4. By giving very full general discussions of such subjects 
as letter writing, correct usage, and memorizing, together 
with model lessons, which help the teacher to prepare and 
present any lesson in these subjects. 

5. By showing the teacher how to help the pupils to get the 
most out of a lesson in the book by means of questions and 
outlines. 

The Manual suppUes additional material by the methods 
listed below. This supplementary work must be used with 
discretion, for no class will need it all. In many lessons no 
supplementary work will be necessary. In other cases a 
class will need special drill in some construction. The teacher 
is the best judge of the needs of her own class. The aim of 
the Manual is to help her to supply additional material 
when it is needed. 

1. By providing exercises of a different type from the one 
given in the text. Additional methods of drill often help to 
fix a principle in mind. Sometimes, too, a class will re- 
spond more readily to one type of drill than to another. The 
Manual provides for this variation. 

2. By suggesting games and exercises to be used, not nec- 
essarily by the whole class, but by pupils who need additional 
work in a topic. Other assignments and projects are sug- 
gested for quick pupils who do not need the ordinary drill 
of the class. 

3. By giving follow-up work and additional assignments 
to be used if a class becomes especially interested in any 
topic discussed in the text. 

4. By suggesting sources of supply from which a teacher 
may draw material. 

5. By supplying lesson plans, assignments, and general 
discussions on which a teacher can base her own supple^ 
mentary material according to the needs of her class. 

At the end of the Lesson Helps for each year is supplied a 
set of Standards for the work of that year. On page 37 is 



THE PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL 7 

given a set of standards for the Third Year. This indi- 
cates the work which will probably have been already ac- 
complished. By reference to these standards for each year a 
teacher can see whether her class is measuring up to the 
mark set for them. The standards for the previous year 
offer a good basis for testing the ability and preparation of a 
new class and aid the teacher in planning the work of the year. 
The standards for oral compositions on pages 37, 79, 106, 
and 143 may be used by the teacher in grading oral compo- 
sitions. They should never be used as models. 



READING LIST 

The following books will be found helpful in the teaching 
of composition, grammar, and corrective English. 

AxTELL. The Teaching of Literature 

Bancroft. The Posture of School Children 

Betts. The Recitation 

B OLENius. The Teaching of Oral English 

BoNSER. Elementary School Curriculum 

Branom. The Project Method in Education 

Bryant. How to Tell Stories to Children 

Cabot. Ethics for Children 

Carpenter, Baker, and Scott. Teaching of English 

Chubb . The Teaching of English ; Festivals and Plays 

CooLEY. Language Teaching in the Grades 

Deming. Language Games for All Grades 

Dewey. How to Teach Manners 

GoLDWASSER. Methods in English 

HiLLiARD, McCoRMicK, and Oglebay. Amateur and Educa- 
tional Dramatics 

Hinsdale. Teaching the Language Arts 

Hosic. The Elementary Course in English 

Kendall and Mirrick. How to Teach the Fundamental Sub- 
jects 

Klapper. The Teaching of English 

Leiper. Language Work in the Elementary School 

Leonard. English Composition as a Social Problem 

Lewis. American Speech 

Lyman. Story Telling 

Mahoney. Standards in English 

Maxwell. The Observation of Teaching 

McMuRRY. How to Study; Special Method in Language 

Sandwich. How to Study and What to Study 

8 



READING LIST 9 

Sheridan. Speaking and Writing English 

Strayer. The Teaching Process 

Strayer and Norseworthy. How to Teach 

SuzzALO. The Teaching of Spelhng 

Trabue. Supplementing the Hillegas Scale (Teachers College, 

Columbia) 
Whitney. The Sociahzed Recitation 
Woodbury. Dramatization in the Grammar Grades 
Woolley. Handbook of Composition 



A MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY 
ENGLISH 

ORAL COMPOSITION 

To the child of to-day, a '^composition'' no longer means 
the product of wearied brain and ink-bespattered fingers 
presented for the teacher's criticism every Friday. It is 
much more likely to mean a talk on some interesting topic 
with the other members of the class as audience and critics. 
Oral composition has won the place of first importance in the 
English class. 

This is as it should be, but the teaching of composition 
still presents difficulties. Too frequently the oral composi- 
tion is an artificial process, stiff and formal, which tortures 
the self-conscious child and makes the forward child too self- 
assured. Oral composition should be a natural process. 
Talking is the most natural thing in the world for the normal 
child. It is only when the artificial element of '^ making a 
speech" is introduced that talking becomes a bugbear rather 
than a pleasure. 

To make oral composition a natural thing, the conditions of 
ordinary conversation should be observed as far as possible 
in the classroom. There must be some one to talk to and 
something to talk about. The class becomes the audience. 
Every pupil should be made to feel that his classmates and 
the teacher are really interested in what he has to tell them. 

No one can talk well unless he has something to say. 
Providing something to talk about is the most important 
and the most difficult part of teaching oral composition. 

11 



12 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

If the teacher is beginning work in a new school, she 
may find that a good way to begin oral work and to get 
acquainted with her class is to talk with them about the 
town, the school, or last yearns work. They will usually 
be glad to volunteer information on subjects on which they 
feel they are authorities. Other topics for discussion will 
occur to the teacher, subjects which are taken from the 
daily life of the pupils, subjects on which there can be a 
variety of opinions. Plans for school parties or exhibitions, 
discussions of games, vacation plans, interesting personal 
experiences, or current events, all these are good subjects for 
conversation. 

Class Projects give the best of opportunities for good 
work in oral composition. Informal class discussion should 
always form a large part of the preparatory work for a 
project. Genuine interest in the problem at hand makes the 
oral work natural and spontaneous. Many projects are 
suggested in the text of Hodge and Lee^s Elementary 
English. For example: 

A class composition book, page 167 

The Better English Club, pages 263, 313, 339 

Keeping a diary, page 218 

Helping the postman, page 26 

Giving a play, pages 91, 111, 204, 226, 303, 322, 340, 345, 365 

Planning a clean-up day, page 147 

Publishing a school paper, page 306 

A flag day program, page 343 

A class picture-book, page 359 

A health campaign, page 362 

A thrift club, page 368 

Special attention is called to the last three projects (pages 
359-379). These Class Projects form an excellent method 
of reviewing the year's work in oral and written composi- 
tion and in corrective English. 

Other suitable projects will occur to the teacher. The 



ORAL COMPOSITION 13 

following suggestions may be helpful in planning activities 
that call for class discussions, reports, talks, and stories. 

A class party 

An exhibition of things children can make (See page 122 of 

the Manual.) 
A story program (See page 101 of the Manual.) 
Making health posters 
A Safety First campaign 
Helping the Red Cross 
Finding out about local history 
Making a ''Visit our Town^' booklet 
Visiting a place of local interest 
A Better English campaign 
Planning a school garden 
Programs for special occasions 
A boy or girl scout program 

Making collections of flowers, stamps, minerals, photographs, etc. 
Planning an imaginary journey 
Exchanging letters, postcards, and souvenirs with school children 

in other towns 

Preparing for written composition work gives a good oppor- 
tunity for oral work. There should always be a close relation- 
ship between the two. Talking things over with other people 
clarifies one's thoughts on a subject. Class discussion 
may center in making a cooperative outline, to be placed on 
the board and used for written work. The discussion of a 
large subject may bring out different phases and different 
methods of approach which may be used by the class in 
writing. In the Hodge and Lee text almost every written 
composition is preceded by suggestions for oral work. 

The first oral work during the year should be informal 
class discussion. The teacher should converse with the class 
at first as she would with any group of people, drawing out 
the more backward members and tactfully suppressing those 
who are inclined to be talkative. It is undoubtedly highly 



14 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

desirable to be able to make an impromptu address or an 
after-dinner speech, but it is much more valuable to be able 
to join in a discussion intelligently and to take one's part 
in conversation. It is this ability that pupils will need most. 

Although the first few lessons should be informal conver- 
sations, pupils should very soon become accustomed to 
giving their talks from the front of the room. The ability 
to face one's companions and to speak easily and clearly is 
well worth cultivating. Speaking on one's feet develops 
self-confidence and poise. The normal person shrinks from 
it, however, unless he is used to it. A class which has not 
been trained in the practice should not be forced to it too 
suddenly. 

The transition from the informal conversations to the 
more formal class talks may be made in several ways. Per- 
haps during a discussion a pupil may volunteer something 
which he has read or experienced. The teacher may suggest 
quickly, '^That sounds interesting. Won't you come down 
front and tell it so that we can all hear?" For the next 
assignment, every one may be asked to prepare something 
interesting enough to be told in front of the class. Thus fac- 
ing the class becomes a privilege. 

With an audience to whom to talk and something to say, 
one thing only remains — how to say it. That is the aim of 
the work in oral composition. Here the lessons on the out- 
line and on how to begin and end paragraphs will be found 
most helpful. There should be constant emphasis on the 
elimination of speech defects, on clear enunciation, and on 
correct pronunciation. There should also be a conscious 
effort to increase the vocabulary and definite attempts at 
improving sentence structure. The cooperation of the class 
in giving helpful criticism will be found the best aid in bring- 
ing about good results. Corrective English is, of course, a 
large part of oral work. This will, however, be discussed 
more fully in another section of the Manual. Oral compo- 



WJIITTEN COMPOSITION 15 

sition must be a matter of constant practice. It is only by- 
patient and enthusiastic efforts that the best results can be 
obtained. 

Dramatization is an excellent form of natural, unforced 
oral composition. It is especially valuable in the lower 
grades. It may be used in connection with the literary work 
of the grade, in history classes, in Safety First drills, in dem- 
onstrations of First Aid work, in imaginary conversations, 
in discussions of courtesy. 

Many suggestions for dramatization are found in the text 
of Hodge and Lee, Book One, and in this Manual. Care 
should be taken to keep all dramatizing as simple as possible, 
and to give every child in the class a share in the play — in 
planning the play, costumes, or stage setting, or in acting or 
criticising. Detailed suggestions for dramatizing will be 
found in the Lesson Helps in this Manual. 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

With the modem emphasis on oral composition, written 
work has become less important, especially in the lower 
grades. Written compositions have, however, the advan- 
tage of teaching the pupil to express himself clearly in writ- 
ing, an ability he will need throughout his school course 
since written examinations are given in almost every sub- 
ject. Letter writing, too, is a most important form of writ- 
ten composition and will be discussed more fully on pages 
17-23 of the Manual. 

While the majority of the class will need oral work more 
than written, the teacher must remember that a class will 
usually have at least one boy or girl who has a genuine inter- 
est in writing. She will, of course, do everything she can to 
help this fortunate one to put his thoughts on paper. Often- 
times a child, poor in composition in the lower grades where 
the work is largely oral, does excellent work in the written 



16 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

work of the higher grades. Any facihty of expression or 
imaginative touch should be noted and commended. 

Written compositions should be preceded by oral work in 
almost every case. Definite suggestions for oral prepara- 
tion are given in the text of Elementary English, Book 
One, and in the Manual. 

Neatness and legibility should be insisted upon. The 
teacher should provide at the beginning of the year a def- 
inite form for written work and should insist upon its 
observance. 

The inexperienced teacher needs a word of warning about 
the correction of written compositions. Much of the time 
spent in marking or correcting errors is time lost. Pupils 
do not pay much attention to the errors thus corrected, and 
the teacher could use the time to much better advantage 
in the preparation of another lesson. 

There are several methods of saving time and getting good 
results in this matter of correcting papers. The teacher 
may glance through a set of papers, noting the general type 
of error. She may then mention the error to the pupils 
next day or give the class a drill which emphasizes the cor- 
rect form. 

She may choose from the set two or three papers which 
are exceptionally good. These may be exhibited on the 
bulletin board, copied on the blackboard, or read aloud to 
the class. A discussion of the good points of these papers 
helps to establish standards by which pupils may criticize 
their own work. It is seldom wise to exhibit specimens of 
poor work. 

Letting pupils correct their own papers in class under 
supervision is also helpful to the teacher and to the pupils. 
An error which a pupil finds and corrects for himself makes 
more impression on his mind, than a half-dozen which the 
teacher finds and corrects for him. 

Pupils may also occasionally exchange papers for correc- 



LETTER WRITING 17 

tion. Pupils who have done good work in a lesson may be 
allowed to correct the papers of the rest of the class. 

A definite scheme of marking errors should be followed 
and should be carefully explained to the pupils, whether the 
work of correction is done by teacher or pupils. 

It is a useful plan to have the class keep written composi- 
tions and dictation exercises in notebooks so that pupils 
may see their own progress. 

LETTER WRITING 

The mail carrier is one of the most famihar and most in- 
teresting figures of the child's daily life. ^^ Watching for 
the postman '^ is a favorite occupation. An interest in the 
writing of . letters can be aroused by telling the children 
something about the postal system of our country. An 
account of the history of the postal service and the work of 
the post office department can be found in any good civics 
textbook and should be simplified for the use of the grade 
to which it is presented. 

Some of the picturesque facts about the history and work 
of the post office can be brought out. The old post roads 
and the post riders are topics which always interest children, 
especially when a comparison is made between the old 
methods of delivery and those of to-day. The work of 
Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General, the growth of the 
postal service after the steamship and railway lines had been 
established, the beginning of the rural free dehvery and par- 
cel post systems, all these form interesting topics for dis- 
cussion. 

Boys who collect stamps will be interested in an account 
of the different kinds of postage stamps used in our country. 
Perhaps some one will lend a collection of United States 
stamps for the class to see. 

The actual work which takes place behind the scenes in 



18 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

the post office is extremely interesting to children. The 
sorting and weighing of mail, the cancellation of stamps, 
and the work on the mail trains, are all fascinating topics 
in themselves, and in addition furnish opportunity to em- 
phasize the need for careful addressing, and the reasons for 
the letter forms. Children who are told that post offices of 
the United States handle 20 billion pieces of mail every year 
will understand the need for clearly and correctly addressed 
envelopes. The sorting of the mail into various classes and 
the sorting of the letters brings out the reason for writing in 
full the name of the person and the name of the town and 
state. Children will easily see that incomplete addresses, 
or addresses written in some peculiar form, will delay the 
delivery of the letter. The work of the dead letter office 
in tracing letters that are incorrectly addressed may be 
described. 

Perhaps the local postmaster can be persuaded to give the 
children a talk about sorting mail. Ask him to emphasize 
the need for such things as the correct form of the address, 
the correct placing of the stamp, writing the sender ^s name 
and address, sealing the letter, and wrapping packages 
securely. 

Some of the following facts may be interesting in connec- 
tion with a study of letter writing: 

The Post Office Department spends $600,000,000 annually. In 
every single hour of the twenty-four, 1,400,000 letters are mailed; 
in every day of the 365, 33,000,000 letters are sent; during this 
year more than 12,000,000,000 letters will be handled. Fourteen 
billion postage stamps, 1,250,000,000 postal cards, and 2,750,000,000 
stamped envelopes are sold every year. 

More than 326,000 postal workers are daily engaged serving 
the 110,000,000 people, or one postal worker for every 337 persons. 

The postal establishment operates its railway-mail service over 
rail trackage long enough to encircle the earth ten times. Forty- 
three thousand rural carriers go out every morning, serving six and 



LETTER WRITING 19 

one-half million families, and before sundown every day travel 
1,170,000 miles — a total of 353,000,000 miles a year over the high- 
ways of the country. 

We use 800,000 miles of twine every year tying the packages of 
letters, enough twine to encircle the earth thirty-two times. Every 
year 6,500,000 pounds of paper are used in manufacturing postal 
cards alone. Debts totaling $1,500,000,000 are paid through the 
Post Office Department annually, with 150,000,000 money orders. 
There are 500,000 depositors in the Postal Savings, a larger number 
than in any banking institution in the world. 

There is twice as much business done in the post office in New 
York City as in the entire Dominion of Canada. An average of 
more than 250,000 letters every day in the New York City Post 
Office alone are re-addressed from city directories; 19,000,000 letters 
every year go to the dead letter office. Think of the cost which 
those services bring to the tax-payers because of the carelessness 
of the public in addressing. 

The Parcel Post is the greatest express company in the world, 
and in a year handles more than 2,500,000,000 packages. 

Letters are the most important form of written composi- 
tion to be taught in the schools, because the average person 
after leaving school does little other writing. Letters are, 
therefore, the most real of all written assignments, and every 
effort should be made to avoid artifiiciality and to make 
letters as true to the conditions of everyday life as possible. 

Remember first of all that letter writing, like all personal 
relationships, consists of giving and receiving. Letters that 
are never answered are not a natural form of expression. 
Writing a letter where no answer is forthcoming is like drop- 
ping a penny into a slot machine that doesn^t work. To 
make letters real and interesting, see that as many of the 
children's letters as possible receive an answer. 

This may be accomplished in several ways. The class 
may be divided into two groups, one to write the letters, 
the other to answer them. If the class writes a letter to 
some one outside the school, the teacher may write a note 



20 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

to accompany it, requesting an answer addressed to the class. 
A mothers' meeting or a meeting of a Parent-Teachers' As- 
sociation might give the teacher an opportunity to arouse 
the parents' interest in the children's letters. 

Whenever possible, letters should be written for and about 
actual occasions. Letters based on imaginary situations 
have their place, but letters written about the real happen- 
ings of the classroom or playtime have a much more vital 
interest. The following suggestions are, therefore, not meant 
to be followed hterally, but are merely suggestive of the sort 
of situation that may be utilized for letter writing assign- 
ments. One situation usually calls for several letters. 

1. The boys of the class are to have a baseball game on Saturday. 
They may write letters inviting the girls to attend. They might 
also ask them to make a banner or write words for a song or yell 
that could be used at the game. The best of the letters should be 
chosen to send to the girls. 

The girls may answer the letter, accepting the invitation and 
suggesting colors and a design to be used on the banner, or words 
for the song. 

After the game, the boys may write a letter thanking the girls 
for their support. The girls' answer may tell why they enjoyed the 
game. 

2. The class has decided to have a nutting party or a picnic. 
They may write to the farmer whose woods they have selected, 
asking for permission to gather nuts or to picnic there. They may 
write to their mothers, telling them what they have decided to have 
for lunch and asking them to provide it. Perhaps another class 
and its teacher may receive written invitations to join the excursion. 
After the party, the class may write a letter to the owner of the 
woods, thanking him for the use of the grounds. Letters may also 
be written to absent members of the class, describing the party. 

3. Perhaps the teacher has read aloud a certain book which the 
class has greatly enjoyed. They may write to the town librarian, 
asking for names of other books by the same author, or they may 
request that some of these books be purchased for the library. If 



LETTER WRITING 21 

the author is living, the class may write to him, telling him how 
much they have enjoyed the book. 

4. It may be possible to arrange with a teacher of the same grade 
in another school for an exchange of letters between the two classes. 
In this case, some event may be described, new games may be ex- 
plained, and programs of entertainments given by the class may 
be written in an attractive form and sent to the other school. In- 
dividual members of the two classes may exchange letters, or a 
few of the best letters may be chosen to send to the other class. 

5. If the class has heard of some particularly good moving 
picture, such as Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green Gables, or Rebecca of 
Sunnybrook Farm, they may write a letter asking the manager of a 
local theatre to show the picture. 

6. Courteous notes may be written by the class to request the 
use of photographs or special articles of interest, such as war 
souvenirs, which may be owned by the people of the town. Some- 
times people may be asked to allow the class to see interesting col- 
lections which will be of value in connection with their work in 
history or geography. 

7. In preparing entertainments for any special occasion, the 
pupils should write letters ordering any decorations that are to be 
used, such as crepe paper, candles, or material for programs or 
posters. Perhaps some one who has a large garden may be asked 
for flowers to decorate the schoolroom. A farmer may be asked 
to sell some pumpkins for jack-o'-lanterns for a Hallowe'en party. 
An interesting person may be asked to speak to the class. Re- 
member also that notes of appreciation should be written to him 
afterwards. An entertainment offers also opportunity for notes of 
invitation, requests to the local newspaper to make mention of the 
plans, and vivid descriptions of the great occasion to absent members. 

8. In connection with their work in geography, pupils may 
write letters to the Secretaries of the Chambers of Commerce in 
various cities asking for information about industries. They may 
also write to railroad companies for time-tables with maps, or for 
descriptive circulars. 

The writing of business letters begins in the fifth year 
and continues with increasing emphasis in the sixth year. 



22 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

The first business letters written by the class should be very 
simple. Ordering an article described in a catalogue or 
subscribing to a periodical gives an opportunity for a simple 
practical letter. 

In the sixth year more difficult business letters, such as 
letters of application, may be taught. The amount of time 
to be given to this subject depends upon the locality. In 
some places, some of the pupils leave school and go to work 
at the end of the sixth grade, and many of them work sum- 
mers. To such pupils it is vitally important that they be 
able to write a good business letter, especially a letter of 
application. The teacher should discuss sympathetically 
with the pupils not only the writing of the letter of applica- 
tion but the personal interview and the qualifications for 
which an employer is looking. 

In all this work, it is the employer's point of view that 
should be stressed. In a simple way this important differ- 
ence between the business letter and ordinary writing may 
be brought out. The pupils are taught the difference in 
form between the friendly letter and the business letter; 
they should also understand the difference in content. In 
their other writing they have expressed their own ideas and 
their individual points of view, but as business letter writers 
they must think always of the reader's point of view and 
of the action which they wish the reader to take. 

In the general class discussion have the- pupils imagine 
they are employers and get them to tell the qualities they 
would look for in employing a boy or a girl. They will prob- 
ably give a list something like this: 

Neatness 

Punctuality 

Ability to follow instructions 

Intelligence 

Politeness 

Honesty 



LETTER WRITING 23 

Discuss how the employer can be convinced that the appH- 
cant possesses these quahties. Of which ones may the writer 
speak, and which are best left to the people to whom the 
employer is referred? The writer should not boast. For 
instance, neatness may be shown by the letter itself and by 
personal appearance in an interview. Politeness will be 
shown by the manner in which the applicant talks to the 
emplo3^er. Honesty will be proved by the opinions of the 
persons who know him. 

In taking up the letter of application, discuss: 

1. Appearance, The letter should be written on plain 
white paper, in ink, and must be perfect in spelling and punc- 
tuation. The writing must be good and the letter itself well 
placed on the. page. A poorly written letter stands little 
chance of being read. 

2. Opening, While originality is desirable, it is probably 
too much to expect from applicants so young; hence the con- 
ventional reference to the advertisement is recommended. 
If the applicant has been told of the position by some friend 
of the employer, a reference to this friend furnishes a more 
personal note: '^Mr. Brown has told me that you are in 
need of an errand boy.'' 

3. The Statements in the Letter, The letter should state 
age, education, experience, if any, and references. All state- 
ments should be specific. In class discuss carefully: the 
matter of references; the people whose opinion would be 
valuable to an employer; permission to use names as refer- 
ences; importance of giving addresses and telephone num- 
bers. 

Since positions are seldom filled without personal inter- 
views, it is better to ask for an interview than for the posi- 
tion. It is a good thing to give a telephone number, since 
it should be made easy for the employer to communicate 
with the applicant. 



24 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

CORRECT USAGE 

Corrective English is in some respects the most impor- 
tant subject in the elementary school curriculum. It is also 
one of the most difficult — for the teacher, if not for the pupil. 
One of the chief reasons for the difficulty is that the teacher 
has a two-fold task. Here, as in no other subject, must she 
break down as well as build up. When a child first studies 
geography, the teacher does not have to labor very vigor- 
ously against any preconceived notions about the flatness 
of the earth. When he is first introduced to arithmetical 
processes, the teacher does not usually have to struggle 
against a habit of saying ^^ three and two make six.^^ But 
when he begins a study of English, the teacher is brought 
face to face with the indubitable and often unfortunate 
fact that he has already learned to speak. Frequently 
he has learned to speak incorrectly, and the teacher is 
forced to combat diligently and firmly the habits of a 
lifetime — a small lifetime, it is true, but long enough to 
gather many ^^ainH and he donH habits.^' Worst of all, 
she must not only break down these habits established in 
the child's most formative years, but she must also wage 
unceasing war against the incorrect expressions which he 
is hearing every day, and build up a bulwark of defense 
against the incorrect English of home, street, and play- 
ground. 

It sounds like a difficult task, but it is not an impossible 
one. Correct usage may be taught just as any other sub- 
ject, and in no other subject are one's painstaking efforts 
better repaid. 

Much of the work must necessarily be indefinite. The 
constant requiring of correct English in the classroom, the 
persistent correction of everyday errors, the example of the 
teacher's own speech, and the reading of good literary ma- 
terial — all these are powerful influences towards correct 



CORRECT USAGE 25 

speaking. But the results show that such indefinite instruc- 
tion is not enough. If any advance is to be made in correc- 
tive work, there must be frequent definite lessons in cor- 
rective English. 

Such lessons are found in Hodge and Lee^s Elemen- 
tary English. These lessons have been planned to correct 
the common errors which children make. Necessarily, in a 
book planned for schools throughout the country, local 
errors cannot always be included. Every teacher should 
keep a fist of the expressions commonly misused by her class, 
and should note the ones which necessitate special drill. 

In taking up any lesson in correct usage, the teacher 
should first decide whether or not the error is a common 
one in her own class. If it is not, the lesson may be passed 
over rapidly. 

If the error is a common one, the next step is to decide 
on the nature of the error. This analysis is most important. 
Why do the children make the error? Is it a matter of pro- 
nunciation, as so many spelling errors are? Is it made be- 
cause of the confusion of two similiar words? Is it a written 
or a spoken error? Which of several forms is the one for 
drill? For example, in teaching the forms of the verb see, 
it is well to remember that the forms / have seen and I had 
seen, etc., are seldom used incorrectly. No one say^ / have 
saw. The common error is I seen. The form for drill, there- 
fore, is I saw. In the same wa^^-, it can be seen that I did 
requires more drill than / have done. A little careful thought 
in this direction will save much valuable time and misdi- 
rected effort. 

If the error is a common one, extra drill may be needed. 
The additional drill provided in the Lesson Helps in the 
Manual may be used, or the teacher may supply drill ac- 
cording to the suggestions given below. 

The nature of the error will, of course, have much weight 
in deciding on the kind of drill to be provided. If the error 



26 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

is a spoken one, an abundance of oral drill must be provided. 
If the error is made only in written work, as in the case of 
possessives and contractions, no time should be wasted in 
reading sentences aloud or in other oral drill. 

The various kinds of drill usually employed are listed 
below. If the lesson in the text provides one kind of drill, 
supplementary work should provide another. The Lesson 
Helps supply a quantity of additional drills. The follow- 
ing suggestions will help the teacher to add to these drills as 
may seem necessary. 

Forms of Drill in Correct Usage 

1. Fixing the use of correct forms by reading and studying 
sentences in which the form is correctly used. The sen- 
tences should be simple and of the sort that the pupils use 
in daily conversation. In addition to being used in the reg- 
ular lesson, the sentences may be written on the board or 
printed on cards and placed around the room where the 
pupils see them constantly. One or two forms for drill may 
be provided each week. 

2. Supplying the correct form in blanks in sentences or 
choosing one of two forms to be used in sentences. This is 
a useful exercise after the correct form has been fixed. It 
necessitates distinguishing between correct and incorrect 
forms, and trains the pupiPs judgment. It is valuable in 
cases where two words are confused, as may and can, learn 
and teach. It serves as an excellent test of the pupil's abil- 
ity, but should not be used too frequently. Dictation exer- 
cises are a useful example of this kind of drill. 

3. Correcting errors in sentences. This is an exercise which 
has been overworked and which has the grave danger of 
placing the incorrect form before the pupil. Pupils do, 
however, hear and see incorrect forms daily and there is 
some advantage in being able to recognize them as errors. 
The best opportunity for this exercise is in connection with 



CORRECT USAGE 27 

the pupil 's own errors. Class criticism of papers, work done 
at the board, and the criticism of oral compositions offer 
opportunity for excellent drill in correcting errors. 

4. Making original sentences using a correct form. This 
is one of the best kinds of drill because it approximates the 
natural use of the form. However, the exercise should be 
made definite. It is not wise to tell a pupil to ^^make up 
five sentences using May IT^ Instead, provide a situation 
or a subject: ^^Make up five sentences in which you ask 
your mother whether you may do something you especially 
want to do.'' Questions that call for an answer containing 
the correct word are also helpful for this exercise. For ex- 
ample, ^^ What did you see on your way to school this morn- 
ing?'' ^^I saw a robin." Considerable ingenuity can be 
utilized in making these questions interesting and helpful. 
Avoid using the drill word in the questions. Don't say, 
^^Tell me what you saw this morning." The Lesson Helps 
suggest numerous drills of this sort. 

5. Playing language games. The language game is one 
of the best means of drill for the correction of speech errors, 
for the reason that the correct expression is used in a simple 
and natural way. The game should be interesting as a 
game. The child's attention should be focused on what he 
is playing, not on what he is saying. The expression for 
drill should be used over and over more or less unconscious- 
ly, until it becomes a part of the child's vocabulary, and the 
habit of using the correct expression is established. 

Many language games are provided in the text and in this 
Manual. They may be used in the language period, be- 
fore school, or in any odd moments that occur. They may 
be made the reward for work quickly done. 

Make special note of any game that emphasizes a point 
on which the class needs drill. Use it frequently, taking 
care, however, that the interest of the pupils remains keen. 
Remember that an attractive name is part of a good game. 



28 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

6. Application of grammatical principles. During the sixth 
year, when some of the simpler elements of grammar have 
been studied, the pupil should be taught to apply grammat- 
ical principles to everyday speech. Grammar should be 
taught not for grammar's sake, but for the sake of correct 
speaking and writing. The application of grammar to cor- 
rect speaking is easily made, and no opportunity for so do- 
ing should be lost. The pupil who knows that them can 
never be an adjective, will know that he cannot say them 
books. The pupil who learns that lend is always a verb and 
never a noun, knows that he cannot say, ^^May I have the 
lend of a nickel?^' If a pupil knows that I is the form 
of the pronoun which is used as subject, he also knows 
that is not correct to say, ^^Bill and me walked home." He 
not only knows that these forms are incorrect, but he also 
knows why they are incorrect. Boys and girls are usually 
logical enough to desire to know the *Vhy'' of things. 
Grammar is the answer to the ^^why.'^ Grammar taught 
in this way becomes a means to an end and loses half its 
drudgery. 

PICTURE STUDY 

We have all seen the picture contests common to strug- 
gling papers and magazines, in which one is requested to 
name all the things in the picture, and the happy author 
of the longest list — who incidentally sends in a subscrip- 
tion — ^will receive a Brazilian diamond pin. Under such 
circumstances, even the hairs on the dog's back and the 
butterfly's antenna? are listed. Too often picture study 
in the grades degenerates into a similar exercise. The chil- 
dren are asked, ^^What do you see in the picture?" and the 
lesson becomes a mere cataloguing of objects, important or 
otherwise. This may train the power of observation, but it 
adds little to the language content. 

Picture study, rightly used, should be a valuable aid to 



PICTURE STUDY 29 

the language teacher. A picture immediately attracts the 
children's attention, and this strong interest can be made a 
powerful stimulus to expression. From their earliest years 
children like to talk about pictures; and as their interest is 
not soon exhausted, a picture that appeals to them may be 
made the basis of several lessons. 

One of the most valuable functions of picture studies in 
the grades is the stimulating of the imagination. Pictures 
appeal especially to the eye-minded child, whose imagination 
is kindled by sights. Dr. van Dyke once said that pictures 
are the windows of the city house, and for the children shut 
within the four walls they afford glimpses into the world 
outside, sometimes into other lands. Tell the children this 
fancy. Make them see that we can find stories in pictures, 
just as we may stand at a window and weave stories about 
the passersby. 

In taking up a picture for the first time, help the pupils 
to find the center of interest. This corresponds to finding 
the topic sentence of a paragraph and prevents the dragging 
in of irrelevant details. Let the pupils tell what events 
have led up to the moment represented and what they think 
is going to happen. Several stories may be suggested, the 
only restraint being that the children should be led to see 
that their stories must be consistent with the material given, 
that is, they must have the element of probability. 

After various stories have been given, let the pupils choose 
the one they like best, work out some conversation, and then 
dramatize it. A little simple costuming suggested and 
arranged by themselves helps out the illusion. Let them 
construct the picture and then make it come alive. 

Another interesting exercise is to have each child choose a 
character he wishes to represent and then tell the story from 
that character's viewpoint. 

The picture may remind the children of interesting ex- 
periences in their own lives and furnish topics for other nar- 



30 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

ratives. Adult appreciation of a picture is often based largely 
on this power of the picture to evoke memories. 

In the upper grades, an attempt may be made to get the 
children to express the emotion aroused by the picture — to 
interpret the artist's meaning. This is a subjective expe- 
rience and valuable as training in self-expression. Later 
when they stand in picture galleries, they should be able to 
contribute something more of appreciative comment than 
the bald statement, '^That's a pretty picture." 

A Picture Study Lesson: Song Without Words 
(Part One, Lesson 36, page 55) 
The lesson may begin with this suggestion: 

Suppose you had borrowed the little lame prince's traveling 
carpet, had been whisked many miles away, and put down in one 
of these houses in the picture. You heard a shouting and rushed 
to the window. How could you tell that you were not in your own 
country? (A discussion of the children's costumes may follow this 
question. Somebody's big brother may have snapshots of French 
children which can be utilized. The class will notice the little boy's 
smock, the peculiar head dress, the long trousers, and the tight 
fitting jacket. — ^AU this to set the scene.) 

What do you think the children's names are? (The teacher will 
have to help by suggesting common French names : Marie, Cosette, 
Pierre, Jean, etc.) What do you think the children were doing 
before the geese came walking down the street? Who first thought 
of making a procession? What did he say to the others? How do 
you think the geese feel about being followed? If you were listening 
at the window, what sounds would you hear? Where do you think 
the geese are going? What do you think will happen when they 
get farther down the street? What do you think the old man is 
telling the baby? 

Tell a story about this strange procession as if you, an American 
child, saw it from a window of one of the houses. 

Suppose you were one of the children. (Let the pupils choose 



THE TEACHING OF MEMORY SELECTIONS 31 

their own characters.) Tell the story as you would tell it to your 
mother at night. 

By means of these stories, conversation may be used as 
the connecting link with dramatization. Dramatization 
should form a lesson by itself. Several stories about the 
picture have probably been worked out. Let the children 
choose the most interesting one. A costumer and stage 
manager may be chosen. These children may make sim- 
ple preparations in advance. 

The action of the play may start before the moment repre- 
sented in the picture. Then the scene changes to the picture. 
Let the stage manager, with suggestions from the pupils as 
critics, see that this scene corresponds to the picture. Then 
the story may progress to some interesting conclusion. 

No attempt should be made to have the children mem- 
orize their parts. Let the conversation and action be spon- 
taneous and original. 

After one attempt has been made, have the children sug- 
gest improvements and play it again. Bashful children, 
thus supported by their fellows, will forget to be self-con- 
scious and enter into the sheer fun of the play. 

THE TEACHING OF MEMORY SELECTIONS 

L The child ^s interest in the poem must be aroused so 
that he will have a desire to make the poem his own by 
means of memorizing. No one cares about owning a thing 
unless he sees some use for it or some pleasure to be gained 
from it. This interest may be aroused by means of pic- 
tures, — real pictures or word pictures, — by dramatization, 
or by supplying a motive for memorizing, such as reciting 
the poem to the assembled school or to another class, or 
telling it to his family. 

2. The poem should be read first as an intensive reading 
lesson in appreciation. This first reading should be done 



32 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

by the teacher. Any unfamiliar words, phrases, or allu- 
sions should be explained at this time. 

3. The meaning of the poem must be explained so that 
the child may get the correct and natural order of thought. 
He will then learn the thought of the poem in the words of 
the poet and not memorize mere words, meaningless and 
difficult to recall. This thought sequence may be brought 
out by questions to be answered by the children in the words 
of the poem. The entire thought should then be repeated 
by the teacher. She should use the phrases of the poem, 
since repetition is the means of memorizing. The fact that 
it is easier to memorize a poem as a whole than to learn it 
bit by bit, and line by line, should always be kept in mind. 
If the poem is very long, two or three stanzas may be con- 
sidered at a time. These should, however, be a unit in 
thought. 

4. The poem should then be read by the teacher and some 
of the pupils several times, as a whole, with the purpose of 
bringing out certain thoughts or feelings. One of the pupils 
may be asked to tell what the poem means. In doing this, 
he will probably use many words of the poet. 

5. The rhyming words and the rhythm may be empha- 
sized to aid in memorizing. 

6. An appeal to several senses may be secured by read- 
ing the poem, by listening as it is read aloud, by drama- 
tizing its scenes, or by singing it to music. A class may be 
composed of eye-minded, ear-minded, and motor-minded 
children, and this multiple sense appeal is most important. 

7. The first lesson on the poem should not be continued 
so long that the class grows weary of it. While the pleasure 
still lasts, go on to something else. Many of the expressions 
will stay in the children's minds until the next day, when 
the thought sequence should again be traced, and the poem 
re-read until the pupils are able to recite it with the teacher. 
The selection has been memorized almost unconsciously. 



THE TEACHING OF MEMORY SELECTIONS 33 

8. When the poem has been memorized in class, don't 
kill the pleasure and appreciation by a round of recitations 
of the same poem, one pupil after another reciting, till every 
one is tired of it. Instill some interest into the recitation 
of this poem that every one knows by heart. Have a con- 
test to decide who shall recite the poem for another class. 
Call on a pupil to show the rest of the class just how he 
pictures the poem. Ask some one who sees it differently 
to give his version. 

The memory selections may be considered by the class as 
numbers on a program which is ready to present to unex- 
pected company at any time. Each selection may be as- 
signed to one pupil, whose special privilege it is to recite the 
poem for an impromptu entertainment when a mother, a 
visiting teacher, or the principal comes to the class. The 
privilege of giving the selection is one eagerly contested for, 
and the task of deciding who shall ^^own'' it as a recitation 
for the impromptu program adds interest to the memoriz- 
ing and reciting. The privilege goes, of course, to the one 
who gives the best interpretation of the poem. The class 
should be the judges who make the decision, but the teacher 
may suggest and explain certain points for criticism, such 
as clear enunciation, correct pronunciation, posture, and 
effectiveness of interpretation. Keeping this program in 
readiness for an occasion also provides a motive for fre- 
quent review of the year's memory selections. 

Lesson on Memory Selection 

''One Little Sandpiper and I'' by Celia Thaxter 

(Part One, Lesson 86, page 107) 

L In preparation for the poem, talk about the seashore. 
Perhaps one of the children can tell about a trip to the beach. 
Show them pictures of the ocean, of waves and rocks and 
lighthouses. Tell them something about storms at sea and 



34 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

the need of lighthouses on the rocky coast. Sea shells and 
wave-worn pebbles may be shown, to bring up a discussion 
of things that are found on the beach. Tell them about 
driftwood, where it comes from and the beautiful colors in 
the driftwood fire. Perhaps some of the pictures will show 
sea gulls flying over the waves. Tell them about the birds 
found near the seashore, among them the sandpiper. De- 
scribe this little bird, his peculiar tilting walk, the little 
piping call which gives him his quaint name, and his habit 
of walking at the very edge of the water. 

Tell the children something about Celia Thaxter's life 
on the Isle of Shoals and how the lonely little girl loved the 
sea and the beach. Tell them that Celia Thaxter wrote a 
poem about her little friend, the sandpiper, in which she 
describes the things they have been talking about. Read 
the poem aloud, vividly and expressively, with the chil- 
dren's books closed. 

Ask for suggestions for illustrating the poem. Pictures 
of lighthouses, shells, the sandpiper, and ships will iramedi- 
ately be mentioned. When these have been discussed, sug- 
gest the making of a booklet. Gray or seagreen paper may 
be used for the covers. The children can cut out the light- 
houses and the sandpiper from black paper and paste them 
on the cover. Add a few lines to suggest the shore and 
waves, and an effective picture has been produced. By 
this time the suggestion that the class learn the poem, 
before writing it on the four white pages which make the 
inside of the book, will fall on ready ears. 

2. The next step is reading the poem again, apprecia- 
tively and intensively. This should be done by the teacher. 
The class may have their books open to the poem on page 
107. The meaning of words such as sullen^ scud, shrouds, 
close-reefed, and wrath should be explained. Bring out the 
figures of speech here, such as the wild waves reach their hands 
and the lighthouses like silent ghosts in misty shrouds. 



THE TEACHING OF MEMORY SELECTIONS 35 

3. Trace the thought sequence, in this case a very simple 
one. Each stanza is a thought unit: the first tells of the 
child and the sandpiper on the lonely beach; the second 
gives a picture of the shore; the third shows the friendship 
between the child and the sandpiper; the last stanza tells 
what the child says to the bird. Bring out the thought by 
means of questions. Ask the question, telling the children 
to read the line that gives the answer. For example: 

Question: Where is the scene of the poem? 

Answer: A lonely beach. Across the lonely beach we flit. 

Question: Who is meant by we. 

Answer: One little sandpiper and I, 

Questions: What is the child doing? How does the driftwood look? 
Something else wants the driftwood, too. What is it? What 
two wild things are on the beach? Is it high or low tide? 
Where do the child and the bird wander? 

Similiar questions may be asked on the other stanzas. 
Then trace the thought sequence, somewhat like this: 

The girl and the little sandpiper are on the lonely beach. The 
child is gathering driftwood which has bleached and dried on the 
beach. The wild waves reach for it, too. It is a stormy day. The 
waves and the wind are wild and the tide runs high, as the child 
and one little sandpiper flit up and down the lonely beach together. 

The day is dark and stormy. The black clouds move suddenly 
and swiftly across the sky. The high lighthouses stand out like 
ghosts in white clothes made of mist and fog. As far as any one 
can see, the vessels are flying over the water, with the sails close- 
reefed because the wind is high. 

The sandpiper skims along the lonely beach with his sweet, 
mournful cry. He is not afraid of the child. He is not startled, as 
most birds would be, when she begins to sing. He knows she would 
not harm him, so he looks at her fearlessly, because they are firm 
friends, the little girl and the little sandpiper. 

The child looks at the wild sky and sea. She knows that the 
night will be very stormy. She asks the sandpiper, ''Comrade, 



36 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

where will you be to-night when the furious storm breaks? I shall 
be comfortable by my bright driftwood fire. What warm shelter 
will you have? But I know you will be safe even in the angry 
tempest. For we are both God^s children, the little sandpiper 
and I.'' 

4. After this thought sequence has been repeated several 
times, read the poem again. Ask one of the children to 
read the first stanza, telling him to make the beach seem as 
lonely as possible. Ask another to read the second, bringing 
out the fact that the day is wild and stormy. Another may 
try to show the friendship between the sandpiper and the 
child. 

5. Call attention to the words that rhyme and to the fact 
that each stanza ends with practically the same line. 

6. Read the poem once more. Then with the book closed, 
ask the children to repeat it to you. Of course, you must 
know the poem yourself. Leave the memorizing and pro- 
ceed with the making of the booklets, referring to the poem 
whenever possible while cutting out the ^lighthouses high'' 
or the ''one little sandpiper'' as "he skims along." The 
next day review the lesson; reread the poem as in paragraph 
4; retrace the thought sequence; and call for volunteers to 
repeat the poem. Some of the children may be able to say 
it. On the following days, repeat the poem and have the 
children write it from memory until each child has a perfect 
copy for his booklet. 



WORK OF PREVIOUS YEARS 

The following outline represents the work which a class 
will probably have had before beginning Elementary Eng- 
lish, Book One. The teacher should test her class in these 
points to see how much review work is necessary. 

THIRD YEAR STANDARDS 

I. Oral Composition 

The ability to give a brief oral composition consisting of 
at least four short related sentences on a familiar topic. 
The pupil should be able to face the class and to speak 
audibly and distinctly. 

Standards of Oral Composition^ 

These compositions are to be used by the teachers in grad- 
ing oral work. They are not intended to be used as models. 

Fair 

My Doll 

Yesterday when I came home from school T played with my 
doll. I made a nightgown for my doll. I put it on the doll and 
put her in bed. Then I knit a cover and put it over her. 

(This has individuality, but it is only Fair because it is a 
bare recounting of actions without any personal comment.) 

1 These standards are taken from English for Elementary Schools pub- 
lished by the Board of Education of the City of Chicago. 

37 



38 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Excellent 

My Dog and I 

Yesterday I had to stay in. My dog and I were playing hunt- 
ers. He was the lion and I was the hunter. I had a pole for 
my gun. I would say ^' Bang! ^' and he would fall down. We 
had lots of fun. 

(This shows that the child has 'Hhought through ^^ the 
incident. He has included the necessary situation and char- 
acters and has omitted unnecessary details. The element 
of imagination is new.) 

Superior 

My Old Doll 

Last Christmas my mother did not buy a new doll for my 
little sister. She dressed the old doll over. Mother was sure 
Sister would not know it. Christmas Day came. When my 
sister saw the newly dressed doll on the table, she cried, '' Hello, 
there, Annie.'' 

(This shows a very good grasp of what the writer has to 
say. The element of suspense and the subtle expression 
of the joke distinguish it as a superior composition for this 
grade.) 

II. Written Composition 

The ability to write a short original paragraph consist- 
ing of at least four related sentences. The waiting should 
be legible, and common words should be correctly spelled. 
Written work should show abiUty to recognize the sen- 
tence unit. 

III. Correct Usage 

The habit of using correct English in everyday activi- 
ties. Errors should be corrected as needed by the class. 



WORK OF PREVIOUS YEARS 39 

By the end of the third year, no child should habitually 
make these errors: 

1. The incorrect use of am, is, are, was, were, 

2. The confusion of the form of saw and seen, can 

and may, 

3. The incorrect use of pronouns in such sen- 

tences as 

My dog he ran. 

Her and me are going. 

4. Double negatives in such sentences as 

I hadn't nothing to do. 

IV. Technicalities 

A. Capitals 

1. At the beginning of sentence 

2. With proper names of persons and place 

3. With the words / and 

4. With the names of days, months, and holi- 

days 

5. With the first word of fines of poetry 

B. Punctuation 

1. Period 

a. At end of statement 

6. After initials 

c. After abbreviations 

2. Question mark at end of question 

3. Apostrophe 

a. With possessive singular 
• b. With common contractions 

4. Hyphen to separate syllables of word broken 

at the end of a line 

C. Abbreviations 

1. Common titles 

2. Months 

3. Measures 



40 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

D. Arrangement 

1. Heading for written work with name, 

date, school, etc., according to the 
custom of the school 

2. Margin at the left and right of paper 

3. Indention of paragraphs 



LESSON HELPS 

PART ONE 

Lesson 1. This lesson is a conversation lesson and should 
be kept as simple and natural as possible. Almost every 
child has been to the zoo or to a circus and will enjoy telling 
of his own experience. No attempt at formal composition 
should be made. 

Lesson 2. This lesson proceeds from the informal conver- 
sation of Lesson 1 to the telling of stories. The lesson is 
valuable in teaching the child to follow a definite plan. By 
means of the simplest form of outhne, he learns to keep to 
the subject. 

Have the class read the story of Haggles. Call their at- 
tention to the words which suggested the story. Remind 
them of stories they know which might be suggested by 
simihar groups of words. Nursery rhyraes are useful here 
as they are simple and famihar. Suggest something like 
this: 

Suppose you wanted to tell the story of a nursery rhyme to your 
little brother. You might use these groups of words to suggest the 
story: a boy and girl — a hill — a pail of water — a tumble. What 
story were you thinking of telling him? 

Play a story-telling game. Let each child think of groups 
of words (not more than five) which suggest a nursery rhyme. 
The class may guess the rhyme. 

After a few minutes of the game, tell them that it is also 
fun to make up stories of their own from groups of words. 

41 



42 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Let some one in the class try one of the stories suggested in 
the exercises on page 16. 

Lesson 3. This lesson is a review of the work of previous 
years and need not require much time. (See suggestions 
for Lesson 5.) If the class needs special drill on sentences, 
one or two of the dictation exercises on page 147 of the 
Manual may be used as supplementary work. 

Lesson 4. For this lesson let the class first write groups 
of words which suggest a story about the elephant. 

Lesson 5. Lessons 3 and 5 may be reviewed by a game of 
^^ Questions and Answers. '^ This is a variation of the old 
game of ^^What is It?'' As many pupils as possible should 
be sent to the blackboard. One pupil should be chosen to 
think of something for the rest to guess. The pupils at the 
board each write a question. For example, ^^Is it in this 
room?'' ^^s it alive? " ^^Is it green? " The pupil who is 
thinking of ^^It" walks around the room, writing under 
each question an answer, ^^It is in this room." ^^It is not 
alive." ^^It is not green." Of course, he v/ill not reply to 
a question that lacks a question mark. How would he know 
it was a question? The class watches for correct punctua- 
tion and tries to guess ^^It." When ^^It" has been guessed, 
another set of players should be chosen to go to the board. 
This game is useful in bringing out the meaning of sen- 
tences, and in showing that a question asks something and 
that a statement gives the answer. 

Lessons 6 and 7. If the class needs extra drill in these 
technicalities, it may be supplied from the exercise on page 
147 of the Manual. Write the paragraphs on the board, 
letting the class copy them. 

Lessons 8 and 9. As a review of these lessons and Lessons 
3 and 5, ask the class to find in their readers examples of 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 43 

each kind of sentence. This exercise may be varied by con- 
tests in finding the sentences. 

Lesson 10. The picture may be the subject of an informal 
conversational lesson, and later may be used as a basis for 
oral composition. Ask each child to select something in 
the picture which he thinks is especially interesting. This 
will focus his attention and keep him from wandering from 
the subject when he comes to talk. Topics which might be 
suggested in the conversation and used later are: 

1. Differences between their school and ours. 

2. The two little girls in the left-hand corner. 

3. Difficulties in playing games if we were dressed like these 
children. 

4. How it would seem to wear wooden shoes. 

Read carefully the section on picture study, pages 28-31 of 

the Manual. 

Lessons 11 and 12. The use of capitals will probably not 
be new to the pupils. If the class seems weak in this re- 
spect, an additional exercise in copying or dictation may be 
supplied from page 148 of the Manual. 

Lessons 13 and 14. In addition to informal conversa- 
tion and story telling such as those in Lessons 1, 2, 4, and 
10, one period a week should be devoted to more formal oral 
composition. Lessons 13 and 14 give the first opportu- 
nity for more formal talks. Care should be taken to pre- 
vent self-consciousness and artificiality. No child should be 
forced to talk until he has a real desire to say something. 
In these first lessons the timid or awkward child should not 
be urged to talk until he volunteers. The oral exercise in 
Lesson 13 gives the teacher a good opportunity to select 
for this first formal work only the best speakers in the class. 
There are always a few children who are naturally good 



44 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

speakers. These pupils will probably be among those se- 
lected by the class as ^^good talkers/^ The speakers will 
take pride in being chosen by their classmates and will be 
anxious to do their best. Thus, a high standard for oral 
work may be given to the class. 

The exercise should be preceded by a conversation about 
the qualities of a good speaker. Attention may be called to 
such points as a clear voice, good enunciation, and interest- 
ing material. The teacher may suggest: ^^ You know we like 
to hear Fred because he always speaks so that every one can 
hear him," or '^You remember we liked Marjorie's story 
about the elephant because it was interesting and made us 
laugh.'' 

Lesson 14 gives an opportunity for the other members of 
the class to talk. If the oral compositions given by the 
chosen speakers were successful, several other pupils will be 
anxious to do as well. Only volunteers should be called on. 
Each speaker should rise and face the class. A beginning 
in class criticism should be made. This must be led very 
skillfully by the teacher so that no one's feelings may be 
hurt. Criticism must be constructive. Such comments as 
these are helpful: 

Could every one hear Harold's story? 

Dorothy's composition was interesting, but she talked rather 

fast. Could you all understand her? 
Why did we all guess which picture Henry was talking about? 

Was it because he described it so well? 
Helen's story about ^^ Spending a NickeP' was funny, wasn't it? 

Did you understand every word she said? 

Call attention to the fact that the best speakers stand 
erect and face their audience. 

Lesson 15. The superfluous use of and may be connected 
with sentence work. Remind the class that capitals and punc- 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 45 

tuation marks show where written sentences begin and end. 
Ask how spoken sentences may be identified. Speak three 
short sentences and ask the class how many sentences they 
heard. Then repeat the sentences connecting them by and. 
Ask whether they can now tell where each sentence ends. 
Read aloud the story of a ^^ Funny Mistake ^' before the 
children read it. Ask for criticism. The writing of the 
story in its improved form is a good review of capitals and 
punctuation. 

Lesson 16. See suggestions on Lesson 2. Class criticism of 
these stories may emphasize avoiding the use of too many 
and^s. Pupils now have three definite points to look for in 
criticising oral compositions: posture, enunciation, use of 
unnecessary words. Comments on general interest, use of 
vocabular>% incorrect expressions, etc., should still be made 
by the teacher, although, influenced by her suggestions, the 
pupils will also probably begin to look for these things. 

Lesson 17. In most classes this will be review work and 
should be taken up rapidly. In addition to the written exer- 
cise, pupils may be given practice in writing the names of 
the pupils in the class. The pupil writing the neatest list 
may be chosen to copy it on the board to be used for a rec- 
ord of the week's attendance or of correct spelling lessons. 

Lessons 18 and 19. These lessons also are review. The 
work may be varied by sending as many pupils as possible 
to the board to write the names of the articles that the 
teacher holds in her hand. Others should write at their 
seats or. watch for mistakes at the board. One article and 
more than one may be shown. Be sure to hold up more than 
two ar-ticles at times so as to avoid the impression which 
children receive that plural means two. Suitable articles 
are pens, pencils, glasses, boxes, flowers, dishes, caps, gloves, 
pictures, books, matches, brushes. 



46 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Do not emphasize the rule in Lesson 19. Drill, instead, 
on the correct spelling of common words of this class which 
the pupils will need to use in their written work. Some of 
these are: 



cities 


stories 


babies 


countries 


ladies 


pennies 


families 


berries 


daisies 


valleys 


journeys 


bodies 


turkeys 


monkeys 


fairies 



Lesson 20. The picture on page 36 may be used as a basis 
for informal conversation followed by more formal composi- 
tions. At this time the teacher should begin to check wan- 
dering talk and help the children to keep to the subject. 
After a child has told a long story, ask the class, ''Which 
part of Fred's story did you like best?'' Then suggest: ''Be 
ready to tell us your story to-morrow, Fred, leaving out 
everything but the part about the horse and the apple-cart.'' 
Make a few phrase outlines like those in Lessons 2 and 16. 
Following such a plan helps the child to keep closely to his 
subject. 

Lesson 21. In preparation for this lesson read to the class 
the opening sentence of three different stories. One of the 
sentences should be interesting, the others very dull. Ask 
the class which story they would like to hear. 

These sentences may be used as uninteresting begin- 
nings: 

A man once walked down a road. 

In the year 1876 there lived a poor farmer. 

It was a cold day in November. 

There was once a little house in the woods. 

These sentences may be used as interesting beginnings. 
The story may be read or told to the class later. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 47 

Once upon a time a dreadful thing happened in the town of 

Hamlin. {The Pied Piper.) 
Many years ago the people of a town in Italy were called together 

to hear a wonderful message from their king. {The Bell ofAtri.) 

Ask the class why they chose the story they asked for. 
Their answers will probably bring out the fact that they 
wanted to hear what ^Hhe dreadful thing'' or ^Hhe wonder- 
ful message'' was. K not, call their attention to these words. 
From this point take up the lesson in the book. Write on 
the board a few interesting sentences about the picture on 
page 36. For example: 

1. Prince Charlie once gave his little master a great fright. 

2. Tom^s first horseback ride was a real adventure. 

3. Tom^s father had promised him a birthday treat. 

4. Prince Charlie was a horse that could be trusted. 

In the exercise on page 38, call attention to the words in 
each good beginning sentence which suggest an interesting 
story: 

1. good excuse 5. a sound of rustling 

2. one of the cleverest tricks 6. the nicest party 

3. ever take me again 7. so many funny things 

4. a dark shadow 8. very queer 

9. nearly spoiled 

Lesson 22. This lesson is a preparation for the heading 
of letters, to be taken up in the next lesson. 

Lesson 23. Read the section on Letter Writing, page 17 
of the Manual. In teaching this lesson, ask what parts of 
the letter answer the following questions: Where? When? 
To whom? From whom? 

The letter on page 40 should be copied and written from 
dictation until the form is fixed, before the original letter 
in the exercise is attempted. This letter should be simple 
and should be criticized for form rather than content. 



48 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 24. Bring out the fact that these unnecessary- 
words are generally used because the speaker did not think 
of what he was going to say before he began. He is trying 
to gain more time at the expense of his hearers. See that 
the class is on the watch for wellj now, why, etc., in other 
recitations. At the beginning of the period appoint a com- 
mittee of two or three to watch for these words. When they 
hear one of the words used at the beginning of a sentence, 
they may stand quietly until the speaker repeats his sen- 
tence without the unnecessary word. 

Lesson 25. The parts of a letter should be taught by the 
dictation or copying of simple letters. Use the letter on 
page 148 of the Manual or one of the letters written for 
the exercise on page 40. Practice writing salutations and 
closings. 

Lesson 26. Read the section on Letter Writing, page 17. 
The postman is a familiar figure to the children, and the study 
of letter writing offers an excellent opportunity for elemen- 
tary work in community civics. The class might adopt as 
its motto in letter writing, ^^Help the Postman. '^ 

Lesson 27. These games are to develop the '' sentence 
sense^' and should be repeated frequently. The first game 
may be varied by having the class write the groups of words 
as the teacher dictates, putting capitals and periods in their 
proper places at the beginning and end of every sentence. 
Papers should be exchanged for correction. 

Lesson 28. If additional drill in enunciation is needed, 
use these exercises: 

Where the hazel bank is steepest, 
Where the shadow lies the deepest, 
Where the clustering nuts fall free, 
That's the way for Billy and me. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 49 

Any stanza of A Boy^s Song by James Hogg gives good 
drill in the pronunciation of loh words. Use also the first 
four fines on page 157 (The Barefoot Boy,) 

Ring ting! I wish I were a primrose, 
A bright yellow primrose, blowing in the spring! 

The stooping bough above me, 

The wandering bee to love me, 
The fern and moss to creep across, 

And the ehn tree for our king! 

The strong young hireling, thinking no wrong, marched along 
with the throng singing the king's song. 

Fly away, fly away, over the sea, 
Sun-loving swallow for summer is done. 
Come again, come again, come back to me. 
Bringing thb sunmier and bringing the sun. 

Lesson 29. This poem is a favorite with children because 
it appeals to their sense of humor. Select the difl&cult words 
before the poem is read and teach their meaning. When- 
ever possible, follow the inductive method, by using the new 
word in several sentences until the pupils are able to supply 
a synonym, thus discovering the meaning for themselves. 
For example: 

The train was approaching the station. 
As I approached the house, I saw a light. 
I am approaching the door. 
Do not approach the lion's cage. 

This drill may be needed with some of the following words: 



inclined 


squirming 


marvel 


observation 


wondrous 


grope 


satisfy 


quoth 


scope 


sturdy 


resembles 


disputed 


bawl 


deny 


opinion 



50 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

It may be interesting to read to the class the story of 
The Gold and Silver Shield (Henry Beaumont), which illus- 
trates the same human trait as Saxe's poem.^ 

Lesson 30. Remind the class of their motto, ^^Help the 
Postman/' When the addresses have been written, let the 
pupils criticize them from this point of view. 

Lesson 31. In the majority of classes the use of singular pos- 
sessives will be review work. If the class is weak on this point, 
or if the work is new, the lesson may be developed in much the 
same manner as the lesson on plural possessives which follows. 

Lessons 32 and 33. To develop these lessons, the teacher 
may ask questions which must be answered by sentences 
using plural possessives. These answers should be written 
on the board by the teacher. Such questions as the follow- 
ing may be used: 

Whose cloakroom is on the right? Whose entrance is on Chestnut 
Street? Whose playground is behind the schoolhouse? What 
kind of nests do you find in trees? What kind of eggs can you 
buy at the grocery? 

The answers to these questions should contain some of 
the following words: hoys^ , girls\ pupils\ birds\ hens\ Bring 
cut the fact that each of these words shows possession by 
more than one person or thing. Ask how the words differ 
from the possessives the pupils have had before. 

Drill intensively on the singular and plural possessives of 
many common words with regularly formed plurals. A 
device that is sometimes useful is to draw a Hne immediately 
before the apostrophe, as in 

boy[s boys\\ 

Call attention to the fact that everything on the left- 
hand side of the apostrophe indicates the possessor. If more 

1 This story may be found in the Merrill Fifth Reader. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 51 

than one boy possesses a ball, the s must come on this side 
of the Une. If only one boy owns the ball, the 's is on the 
other side of the line. 

For drill on possessives, write on the board a word in its 
singular form, as girl. Let one row give sentences using this 
form. Change the word to show possession, girrs. The 
second row now gives sentences using this form. The word 
is then changed to mean more than one; and then to mean 
more than one and to show possession. Sentences are given 
to illustrate each form. Let different pupils go to the board 
to write sentences using the four forms. 

Lesson 33. Lesson 32 should be followed by informal 
composition work with much drill on the formation of the 
possessives of words with regular plurals. The regular forms 
must be firmly fixed before the irregular plural possessives 
are taught. 

To develop the possessives of irregular plurals, write the 
singular form on the board. Let the class form the plurals, 
and use the plurals in sentences to show possession, the 
teacher writing the sentences on the board as the class gives 
them. Ask how these possessive forms differ from others the 
pupils have learned. Call attention to the device they have 
used before, which is most helpful here: 

The possessor is still on the left-hand side of the apostrophe. 
Drill should emphasize only common words. If a pupil 
can write men^Sj women^Sy and children's correctly, he will 
probably have no trouble with irregular plural possessives. 
The fourth grade is too early for comprehensive drill on 
irregular plurals. 

Lesson 34. Develop this lesson by means of questions sim- 
ilar to those used for Lesson 32. Illustrative sentences are 
easily obtained from the class because a pupil naturally 



52 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

speaks of my book, my dress, my pencil. Other people^s 
belongings are his, hers, theirs. These sentences will show 
that certain words may be used in place of names to show 
possession. Emphasize the fact that these words are writtea 
without any apostrophe. Special drill should be given to 
itSj theirSj and hers. 

Lesson 35. In correcting this dictation lesson, count as 
mistakes only the incorrect uses of capitals and periods. 
The pupils should regard dictation exercises as a means of 
testing their own ability. Exercises may be kept in note- 
books to show improvement. 

Lesson 36. Use the plan for this lesson on page 30 of the 

Manual. 

Lesson 37. The pupil is by this time accustomed to noting 
paragraph divisions in his reading matter. Lesson 37 is, 
however, the first study of the paragraph as a structural 
unit. 

The elementary study of the paragraph may begin with 
the reproduction of a story which has been read to the class, 
each part being told by a different pupil. By considering 
each part as a unit, the children unconsciously learn to 
recognize natural paragraph divisions. 

The story of ^^The Jackal and His Meaf may be preceded 
by the story of '^The Ant and the Dove.'' Read the story 
to the class. Ask one pupil to tell how the dove saved the 
ant. Ask another to tell how the ant saved the dove. 
Write the story on the board. 

The Ant and the Dove 

One day an ant fell into the river. She was in great danger of 
being drowned. A dove flying by pitied her and dropped a leaf 
into the water. The ant climbed upon it and was soon carried safe 
to shore. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 53 

Many days later a hunter passed the tree where the dove was 
building a nest. The dove did not see him raise his bow and arrow. 
Just as he was about to shoot, the little ant crept up and bit the 
hunter on the heel. The arrow flew wide of the mark, and the dove 
was saved. 

Read to the class the story of the jackal. Ask one pupil 
to tell about the jackal and the fish. Ask another to tell 
about what happened to the jackaPs supper. Open the 
books. Let a pupil read the whole story. Call attention 
to the fact that the first pupil's part of the story is told in 
the first paragraph, and the second part in the second para- 
graph. 

Turn to the story on the board. Ask what each para- 
graph tells about. 

Proceed to the definition of a paragraph and the written 
exercise. 

Lesson 38. Before this lesson is taken up in the book, 
it may be developed in this way: 

Have simple sentences written on slips of paper and 
passed out to half the class. Each of these sentences should 
contain the singular name of a person or thing used with is. 
Have the pupils copy these sentences on the board and then 
write the sentences, changing the name to mean more than 
one. Appoint critics among the pupils at their seats, one 
critic for each pupil at the board. In corrective oral English 
they have been drilled from the first grade in the use of is 
and are and should detect any errors in these sentences by 
sound. After the correction of any errors, develop the state- 
ment that is is used in talking about one thing, are for more 
than one. Develop questions in the same way, giving slips 
to the other half of the class. This will be more difficult 
and, if necessary, additional drill should be given. 

In taking up the lesson in the book, emphasize the fact 
that you doesn't change when it means more than one, and 



54 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

that the same verb is always used with it, are in this case. 
The chief difficulty with you lies with the past tense. You 
was is a much more common mistake than you is and will 
receive special attention later. (See Lesson 42.) 

Lesson 39. This lesson gives an opportunity for the more 
formal oral compositions to be provided each week. A 
committee may be appointed, as in Lesson 24, to watch for 
superfluous and^s. Ask each pupil to plan what he is going to 
say, and to write an interesting beginning sentence. 

Lesson 40. For additional interesting letter assignments 
see page 20 of the Manual. 

Lesson 41. 

Do you like rainy days? 

No, I don't. 
Tell John not to forget his baseball bat. 

Don't forget your bat. 
Is Mary as tall as Grace? 

No, she isn't. 

By use of similar questions or commands, five or six illus- 
trative sentences for this lesson may be secured from the 
class and may be written on the board by the teacher. Write 
either contracted or uncontracted form as the children hap- 
pen to give it, and ask for another way of saying do not or 
donHj is not or isn^t. 

Ask the class which form has fewer letters. Tell them 
that the short forms are contractions. Explain the meaning 
of this word. 

Ask how don H is made. Develop the fact that when do and 
not are written as one word, the o is left out of not and the 
apostrophe put in to show that something is omitted. Do 
the same with isn H. Then let the class form the contractions 
for would notj could not, had not, was not, has not, does not, 
are not, etc. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 55 

ArenH and doesnH require special attention because of 
the frequent misspelling. 

Take up a few contractions in which other letters besides 
are omitted: he^s, youWe, I^vCj we We. 

Call attention to the fact that contractions are used in 
conversation and in writing that is meant to sound like talk- 
ing. Let the pupils look for contractions in their readers, 
noting that these words are used where some one is speaking. 
See who can find and copy the longest list of contractions 
in five minutes. 

Lessons 42 and 43. Develop this lesson by a method 
similar to the development of is and are. (See Lesson 38.) 

The following game gives additional drill on you were and 
weren H you. This is an adaptation of the old game ^^ What 's 
your occupation?'^ always a favorite with children. One 
pupil acts out silently before the class something illustrating 
an occupation. The class tries to guess what he has done 
by asking questions beginning, ^^WerenH you pretending 
that you were '^ For instance: 

WerenH you pretending that you were a baseball pitcher? 
WererCt you pretending that you were a street-car conductor? 

Lesson 44. Before the poem is read, talk with the class 
about games they like to play. Ask whether they know any 
games that can be played sitting still. Have they ever played 
games on the train, in an automobile, or when they were 
sick in bed? 

After the pupils have described such games, tell them, 
'^We are going to read a poem that tells about a game 
played by a little boy who had to sit still all the time. Read 
the poem and see if you can tell what the game was and how 
it was played. '^ 

The poem should first be read silently by the pupils, and 
then the game should be discussed. Later the poem may be 



56 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

read aloud, first by the teacher and then by one or more 
pupils as suggested in the Oral Exercise. 

The teacher may read or remind the class of Stevenson's 
The Land of Counterpane, which tells of another little boy's 
make-believe games. 

Lessons 45 and 46. Do and does and have and has may be 
developed by a method similar to the one used with is and 
are. Lesson 38. Does may need special drill on account of 
spelling difficulties. 

The enunciation drill in Part II of the exercise on page 
66 may be supplemented by a game called, ^^Did you?'' 
Every one closes his eyes while one pupil touches something 
in the room. The class tries to guess what he has touched 

by asking questions beginning, ^^Did you ?" Watch 

carefully for ^^Didja." 

^^Dontcha" may be corrected by the game of ^^ Don't 
you?" One pupil announces, ^^I am thinking of my favorite 
color" (or flower or game). The others guess by asking, 
'^ Don't you like red?" '^ Don't you like blue?" etc. The 
pupil who guesses correctly takes the ^Hhinker's" place. 
This is a good game for special occasions, such as Christmas 
and Thanksgiving. ^^I am thinking of what I want for 
Christmas." ^^ Don't you want a sled? Don't you want a 
top?" etc. 

Lesson 47. Emphasize interesting beginning sentences 
in these oral compositions. Make the assignment definite. 
For instance, tell the pupils to prepare a talk about the most 
interesting animal trick they have ever known or heard 
about. Or, ask them to tell about the best way to feed and 
care for a pet animal. 

Discuss interesting opening sentences with them. Show, 
for example, that ^^I have a gray cat," does not make any 
one want to hear the rest of the story; but ^^My gray cat 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 57 

ought to be in the circus'' makes every one eager to hear 
what the cat can do. Give several good opening sentences 
about animals as suggestions. For example: 

The funniest pet I ever had was a white mouse. 

Most people think that rabbits are not clever, but I know better. 

Would you think that a dog could learn to play baseball? 

My dog Sport is my best playmate. 

I spent all Saturday afternoon teaching my dog a new trick. 

After each talk has been given, the class should criticize 
the opening sentence from the point of view of interest. 

The teacher may choose to read aloud a good animal story. 
Suggested books are: 

BiGHAM, M. A., Merry Animal Tales 
Kipling, Rudyard, Just-So Stories 
Carter, M. H., Stories of Brave Dogs 
Miller, 0. T., Little Folks in Feathers and Fur 

Lesson 48. The model letter may be used for copying or 
for dictation as a drill on the form and parts of a letter. 
Additional interesting assignments may be found on page 
20 of the Manual. 

Lesson 49. The following game is useful in fixing the use 
of am not and arenH instead of ainH. Play the " make- 
believe '^ game described in the poem Onej Two, Three y 
(page 63). One pupil pretends to hide. The others ask, 
^^ ArenH you under the teacher's desk?'' '^No, I am not 
under the desk." ^^ ArenH you behind the door?" '^No, I 
am not behind the door," etc. 

IsnH may be taught by means of the game called '^ Going 
to the Grocery." 

Charles: I am going to the grocery to buy something. 
Eleanor: IsnH it sugar? 
Charles: No, it isnH sugar. 



58 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Similar games may be played using '^ Isn 't he?'' ''He isn 't/' 
Remember that a name makes a game doubly attractive. 

Lesson 50. Tell the story of Pippa very simply. The 
main facts are as follows and may be elaborated as the 
teacher desires. 

Pippa, a poor little Italian girl, had to work very hard in a silk 
mill. In all the year she had only one holiday. You can imagine 
how she looked forward to it for months and months. 

When the morning came at last, she was up almost as soon as the 
sun himself. She put on her best dress and went out to spend the 
day in the bright sunshine, which she never saw in the dark factory. 
She skipped gaily along the road, wondering at all the beautiful 
things around her. They were almost new to Pippa because she 
saw them so seldom. She was so happy that she made up this 
little song about them. 

(Recite Pippa^s Song) 

All day she wandered happily along the road. All day people 
heard her merry little song. Tired and discouraged people felt 
glad and rested. One very wicked man decided not to do the evil 
deed he had planned. At night Pippa went home to her tiny bare 
room. She was happy after her holiday, but she never knew how 
many other people had been made happier and better by her song. 

The class should learn to write the poem correctly as well 
as to recite it. Do not dwell too much on the contractions. 

After the class has learned and written the poem, an inter- 
esting subject for an oral composition might be ''What I 
Should Do if I Had Only One HoUday.'' 

Lesson 51. The troublesome word, of course, is doesn H. 
Special drill on he doesnH may be given by the game "At the 
Circus'' or "AttheZoo''. 

Tom: I am thinking of an animal I saw at the circus. 
Lucy: Doesn't he have a long neck? 
Tom: No, he doesn't have a long neck. 
John: Doesn't he have a trunk? 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 59 

Tom: No, he doesn't have a trunk. 
Caroline: Doesn't he roar very loud? 
Tom: Yes, he roars very loud. 
Caroline: Isn't he a lion? 
Tom: Yes, he is a lion. 

Lesson 52. Finding the thought in a paragraph is the next 
step in paragraph study. It is a most important step because 
it leads to the ability to get the thought from the printed 
page. The pupil who receives careful training in finding the 
topic of a paragraph is learning how to study. Constant 
practice in finding the thought should be given in reading 
lessons, in geography, and in hygiene. The lesson is carefully 
developed in the book and should be followed by many 
additional paragraphs for study from this text and from 
other textbooks. Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon 
this subject. Other paragraphs suitable for study may be 
found on pages 26, 27, 53, 107, and on pages 147 and 148 
of the Manual. 

Lesson 53. With most classes the introduction to the 
study of Longfellow may be made through the story of 
Hiawatha, which the children have heard and loved in earlier 
grades. Some of Longfellow's other poems may be read to 
the class. Make the poet a living personality to the chil- 
dren by anecdotes and by pictures of the poet and his home. 

Lesson 54. Read the section on the Teaching of Memory 
Selections, page 31 of the Manual. Before studying the 
poem, discuss the picture on page 75. With city children it 
will be necessary to tell the reason for shoeing horses and to 
describe a blacksmith shop. In the country the children 
may give the description. In the discussion the teacher 
should use as many as possible of the new words in the poem, 
large and sinewy hands, bellows, heavy sledge, chaff, etc. When 
the scene has been set, the poem may be read by the teacher. 



60 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Do not forget to tell the children the story of the chair 
made for the poet from ^Hhe spreading chestnut tree'\ and 
paid for by the pennies of the school children of Cambridge. 

Lesson 55, This lesson is sufficiently developed in the 
book. 

Lesson 56. This lesson is designed to check the tendency 
of many children to ramble on long after their stories are 
finished. A good ending sentence is as important as a good 
beginning, but it follows a somewhat different principle. An 
opening sentence should suggest something which is to fol- 
low. It should tell the more obvious facts. The closing 
sentence ^' clinches^' the point and, if possible, tells a more 
startling fact that might not be known to the casual observer. 
It is as if one began a description of a man with the observa- 
tion that he was tall, dark, and mysterious-looking and con- 
cluded with the comment that he wore inside his coat a 
detective's badge. 

With children it is impossible to generalize on this sub- 
ject, but they are quick to feel the difference between strong 
and weak endings. Many examples of good closing sen- 
tences should be given to the pupils and they should receive 
also a great deal of help in making good endings for their 
own compositions. 

In the exercises on page 78, better closing sentences for 
the paragraphs might be as follows: 

1. We have been good friends ever since. 

I used to be afraid of policemen, but I never shall be again. 
Mother says that I never ran away again. 

2. We were so hungry that we had to go home early. 
We were all glad that he left us the chocolate cake. 
I suppose he was as hungry as any of us. 

We chased him, but we never saw the chicken sandwiches 
again. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 61 

Additional exercises are as follows: 

L Criticize the ending sentences of stories in readers and chil- 
dren's magazines. Amusing anecdotes in which the point of the 
story is its conclusion are especially valuable as examples of good 
endings. 

2. Have the pupils bring to class anecdotes with good and poor 
endings. 

3. Suggest one of these topics for a class talk. Work for definite 
improvement in beginnings and endings. 

a. The funniest thing my baby brother ever did. 
6. The worst fright I ever had. 

c. My biggest surprise. 

d. The most interesting animal trick I ever saw. 

Lesson 57. This game may be made more definite if one 
of the pupils who prepared the sentences is chosen as leader. 
He will announce, ^'I want to form a sentence about a dog. 
Who has a good beginning word?^' 

Lesson 58. To make this lesson more interesting, some of 
the stories of how the months received their names may be 
told. The following paragraphs may be of value: 

The names of the months were given by the Romans, a people 
of long ago whose language was Latin. 

January was named for Janus, one of their gods. 

February was named for the festival, fehrua, which took place 
in that month. 

March gets its name from Mars, the blustering Roman god of war. 

April comes from a Latin word which means opening. April is 
the month when spring opens. 

May was named in honor of the goddess Maia. 

June is from the name of another goddess, Juno. 

July and August got their names in a peculiar way. The old 
Roman year had only ten months. Julius Csesar added a month, 
which was called, in his honor, July. Augustus Csesar added still 
another month, and from him it was named August. 

September comes from a Latin word meaning seventh; but the 



62 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

two months introduced by the Caesars made September the ninth 
month. 

October, November, and December come from Latin words 
meaning eighth, ninth, and tenth, although these months are now 
the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth. 

Lesson 59. If the teacher wishes, this lesson may serve as 
a starting point for a project consisting of a program pre- 
pared by the class. Every real project should begin with 
the discussion of the pupils' ideas. An informal discussion 
may precede the writing of the letter. Assign the topic. 
Let the children think of the subject over-night, and write 
the letters in class the next day. In order to get as many 
original ideas as possible, emphasize the fact that each per- 
son's idea for a program will be a ^^ secret'' until the letters 
are read in class. 

The preparation of the program should bring the language 
work into correlation with as many subjects of the school 
curriculum as possible. (See the suggestions about projects, 
page 12 of the Manual.) 

Lessons 60 and 61. The point to emphasize in this lesson 
is keeping to the subject. After a thorough review of good 
beginning and ending sentences, ask each pupil to prepare 
one of the oral compositions suggested for this lesson. Before 
these talks are given to the class, discuss Lesson 61 carefully. 

Lesson 61 is especially important, not only in language 
work, but in all subjects. Children are used to the criticism 
of their elders and become more or less hardened to it. The 
standards set by parents and teachers too frequently seem 
unattainable. The criticism of their peers, however, makes 
a deeper impression and is an incentive toward improve- 
ment. Dwell especially on the rules for criticism empha- 
sized on page 82 of the text. 

1. Listen carefully. Show that listening is a part of every class 
exercise, just as much as reciting. Let the pupil who has recited 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 63 

ask the class one or two questions to see whether they have been 
Hstening. 

2. Be definite. Constructive criticism must be required. A 
spirit of cooperation should prevail. Pupils must be made to see 
that they can help each other by telUng why they Hked or did 
not like the story. The teacher can direct the efforts of the class 
toward constructive criticism by writing on the board definite 
points for which the class is to watch. These points may be varied 
from time to time as the needs of the class demand. 
3. Be kind, A kindly spirit should be assiduously cultivated. 
Mere fault-finding should never be tolerated, nor should the chance 
to criticize be considered an opportunity to ''get even'^ for pre- 
vious adverse critical comments. The criticism of criticisms is 
helpful. 

Lesson 62. These sentences are for drill on the pronunci- 
ation of certain commonly used words. If mistakes in these 
words are not common in the class, substitute other words 
on which the pupils need drill. Be careful not to emphasize 
incorrect pronunciations. 

Lesson 63. This lesson should help to develop self-con- 
scious criticism. Correlate language work with the spelling 
lesson. The individual spelling books may be used as the 
basis for a spelling test. One pupil may choose words from 
his ''First Aid Speller'' as a test for the class. 

Lesson 64. The common mistake in the verb see is the 
use of seen for saw. Saw, therefore, is the form which drill 
must emphasize. 

A game of ^'Observation'' may be used for additional 
drill. Let the class look at a picture for one minute. (The 
picture on page 54 is especially good for this purpose.) See 
who can name the largest number of persons or objects 
observed in the picture. '^I saw" must be used with every 
object named. ^'I saw an old man"; ^'I saw a baby"; "I 
saw some geese," etc. 



64 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 65. Read the section on Picture Study, page 28. 
The story which Uncle Ben tells Tony (Oral Exercise 2) may 
be begun by the teacher and finished by the class. This 
introduction may be used: 

When I was a little boy, I used to sit all day by the wharves 
and watch the ships in the harbor. I wondered where they were 
going, and I longed to see the strange lands far away across the 
blue water. Sometimes I would help the sailors in loading the 
cargo and in return they would let me go aboard their ship. 

One day I helped an old sailor carry a heavy box. He took me 
on board and showed me all around the big ship. He let me peep 
into the kitchen where the sailors' meals were cooked, and he 
showed me the hammocks in which they slept at night. Every- 
thing deHghted me, but most of all I wanted to see the captain of 
the ship. 

After awhile the old sailor said I must go ashore. I had not yet 
seen the captain, so I hid behind a big barrel and waited. For a 
long time I sat there as still as a mouse. At last I fell sound asleep. 
Suddenly I was awakened by a deep rumbling sound and a queer 
motion as if I were in a big swing. I rushed out and saw 

Lesson 66. There are two mistakes to guard against here: 
they for there and was for were. Drill is therefore needed 
especially on the form there were. 

This is a good time to review ^plurals. Write on the board 
the singular form of several words suggested by the class. 
Change the words to mean more than one. (Include some 
words ending in y and /.) Let the pupils use each singular 
form in a sentence beginning there was, and each plural form 
in a sentence beginning there were. Have the sentences 
written on the board. * Erase the was and were and fill in the 
blanks, as in the exercise on page 87. 

Lesson 67. See the section on Letter Writing, page 17. 

Lesson 68. The mistake to guard against is the use of 
can for may. May is therefore the form for drill, especially 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 65 

in the question forms ^^May I?^' ^^May we?'' since children 
more frequently ask than grant permission. 

1. Let the class make their own drill sentences by writing 
a list of requests commonly made. The class might be di- 
vided into two sections: one to prepare requests made in 
school, the other those made at home. For example, "May 
I have a pencil?'' "May I stay up until half-past eight?" 

The sentences may be used for oral drill by having the 
questions asked by one section and answered by the other. 

2. Let the class make up a dialogue using may. One pupil 
may be the mother or the teacher. Other children ask per- 
mission to do various things. 

Lesson 69. Children have a natural interest in words, 
and this lesson, if skillfully taught, should make them eager 
to add to their vocabularies. 

Start the lesson by talking to the children about variety 
in the use of words. Ask whether they would like to wear 
the same suit or dress day after day; whether they would 
like to eat nothing but bread-and-butter; whether they 
would like to read the same story over and over again. 
Bring out the joy of having new things. Lead up to the 
pleasure of using new words, or new names for things. 

This is a lesson not merely in sjrrLonyins, but in different 
ways of expressing the same idea. For additional drill, write 
on the board the opening sentences of several favorite stories. 
Show how they may be changed for variety and still express 
the same thought. Call attention to words in the reading 
lessons which may be added to the pupils' store of 
words. 

Put words on the board and let the class give as many 
synonyms as possible. The word synonym, of course, will 
not be mentioned. Do not attempt to get shades of mean- 
ing. The purpose of this lesson is to show the possibility of 
variety in the use of words. 



66 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Useful and simple synonyms which may be taught are: 

big, large, great, huge 

rich, wealthy 

beautiful, fair, lovely, handsome 

ugly, hideous, frightful, homely 

anger, wrath, rage 

angry, indignant, enraged, furious 

weary, tired, worn-out 

busy, industrious, active, working 

still, quiet, noiseless 

difficult, hard, troublesome 

strong, hardy, powerful, vigorous, mighty 

weak, frail, feeble, delicate 

Lessons 70 and 71. Lesson 71 is an excellent one for get- 
ting the thought by silent reading. To test the pupil, ask 
such questions as: 

How did the wolf feel when he met the dog? How did the dog 
get his food? How did the wolf feel about working? What did the 
dog promise to do? What did the dog and wolf do then? What 
did the wolf notice about the dog? What was the dog's reply? 
What did the wolf say? 

Encourage the children to answer in the words of the 
author, as this is an excellent way to enlarge their vocabu- 
laries. Irregular, objection, arrange, are all words which 
offer no difficulty in meaning but which are not commonly 
used by the children. 

As a preliminary step to writing the play, have the chil- 
dren tell the story; first, as the wolf might tell it; then, 
as the dog might tell it. In this way the story will be put 
into the first person. 

The pupils are now ready to dramatize the story. Those 
at their seats may give suggestions as to the dialogue and 
action of the two chosen as actors. 

The form of writing a play may be noted as a matter of 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 67 

interest and used as a model throughout the book. The 
children will see that only conversations and directions are 
given. 

Lesson 72. This game may be varied by the teacher to 
meet the needs of the class, other verbs being substituted as 
required. 

Lesson 73. Make this lesson a review in addressing envel- 
opes. Use sheets of paper cut and folded like real envelopes. 

Lesson 74. The exercise provided for this lesson has as its 
purpose the fixing of the use of correct forms. This exercise 
may be supplemented by an exercise which tests abihty to 
distinguish the correct form. For example, ^^Fill the blanks 
in the following sentences with these, those, or them J ^ Re- 
member that the common mistake is in the use of them for 
those and these. Those and these are therefore the forms 
for drill. 

The following sentences may be written on the boaid as 
an exercise: 

1. are the books I mean. 

2. I want some of cookies. 

3. Whose books are on the desk? 

4. Please sharpen pencils. 

5. boys live on our street. 

6. Did you tell girls that their mother was calling them? 

7. marbles are the ones I bought at the store. 

8. Are skates yours? May I borrow ? 

9. May I have pictures for my scrapbook? 

10. are the children I saw yesterday. 

Lesson 75. This lesson offers an opportunity to the teacher 
for drill in the corrective work needed by her own class. 
Remember constantly that the emphasis must be on the 
correct forms rather than on the incorrect ones. 



68 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

It is a good plan for the class to start Correct Usage Books 
similar to the First- Aid Spellers. The books may be entitled 
'^My Memory Book'^ or ^^ Things I Must Remember to 
Say/' The children will enjoy making the books and letter- 
ing the covers. In these books will be written the correct 
forms the class has studied. The entries should be made 
under the teacher's supervision. Whenever the error is 
repeated, the class should refer to their Memory Books. 

Lesson 76. The common mistake in the use of the verb 
do is the use of I (we, she, he) done instead of did. Did is 
therefore the form for drill. 

The game of ^^ Seeing the Queen'' combines the correct 
use of saw and did. 

Esther: 1 went to London and saw the queen. 

John: What did she do? 

Esther: She did this. (Acts out something; for example, writing, 
reading, telephoning, mailing a letter, etc.) 

John tries to guess what the queen did. If he fails, Esther re- 
peats her statement to Charles, who asks, ^^What did she do?" 

Be sure that / did and Who did it? are added to the Memory 
Books. 

Lesson 77. The pupils have been famihar with the appear- 
ance of quotation marks in their reading, but have probably 
never called them by name. Let them discover the use of 
these marks for themselves. Ask every one to take his reader 
and find a place where some one is talking. Several pupils 
may read their selections, the class following the reading 
in the book. Ask, ^^How did you know that some one was 
speaking? Can you find on this page any marks which you 
do not find on page — -"^ where no one is talking?" The 
teacher may continue to select quotations until the children 

1 The teacher should select a page in the reader on which no conversation 
occurs. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 69 

discover that the quotation marks are the sign posts of 
conversation. Then the name of the marks and their use 
may be taught. Note, in this preUminary work, the use of 
the comma when the quotation is a statement. 

Write several quotations on the board, using first the 
form in which the quotation comes at the beginning of the 
sentence. Teach the use of the capital to begin the quotation 
by changing these sentences so that ^^He said,'^ '^He asked," 
etc., precede the quotations. 

The exercise on page 98 gives practice in copying quota- 
tions. After this exercise, the pupils may write original 
quotations, working at the board as follows: 

The teacher asks Fred a question, which he answers. On the 
board she writes : 

I asked what are you going to do Saturday 

Fred said I am going to play ball 
Pupils may volunteer to supply the punctuation marks. 

After several sentences of this sort, as many pupils as possible 
should go to the board. The teacher asks questions for pupils to 
answer. The class, without help, should be able to write the 
answers : 

Gertrude said, ^^I am ten years old.'' 

Tom said, ^^I have a pencil in my hand.'' 

Lesson 78. Discuss with the class the circumstances in 
which the courteous expressions given in the book would 
be used and the reason for their use. This is a good time to 
discuss courteous acts as well as courteous speech. Talk 
about such subjects as courtesy at home, including table 
manners; courtesy in the schoolroom, including the treat- 
ment of visitors; politeness in hstening to recitations and in 
criticizing compositions; and courtesy on the street, includ- 
ing saying, '^Good-morning, Miss Hall,'' taking off one's 
hat, etc. 

Dramatize a conversation similar to the one between Bob 



70 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

and his mother. Situations for dramatization may be sug- 
gested as follows: 

1. A visitor comes to our schoolroom. 

2. You answer the door bell at your home and meet a caller, who 
asks to see your mother. 

3. You meet on the street an older person, who asks whether 
your father is at home. 

4. You are seated in a crowded car when a lady enters. 

5. You are in a strange town and wish to ask the way to the post 
office. 

The class may criticize the actors from the point of view of 
courtesy. 

The written exercise on page 100 should give additional 
practice in writing quotations. 

^^I and Dorothy '^ is a common error and may be guarded 
against by the following exercise: 

Two or more pupils are told to stand. The teacher asks one of 
them, ^'Who are standing?^' The pupil replies, ^^ Ellen, Martha, 
and I are standing. '' 

Similar questions are: Who are raising their hands? What 

pupils live on Street? What pupils are seated on the back 

seats? What girls have red hair ribbons? 

Lesson 79. For drill in correcting the error pointed out 
in this lesson, use the last exercise described in Lesson 78. 
Vary the questions to include some for which the answers 
are ^^John and me.'' For example, ^^Whom did I send to 
the board? Who sits between you and Edward?'' etc. 

Lesson 80. For additional interesting assignments see 
pages 20-21 of the Manual. 

Lesson 81. In using forms of the verb go, the common 
mistake is in the substitution of the past for the perfect 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 71 

tenses. Drill must emphasize the correction of have went, 
and had went. Have gone, had gone, are gone, etc., are the 
forms for special drill. Use the following sentences, in which 
gone or went are to be supplied: 

L We had only a little way when we met an old man. 

2. My father has to New York. 

3. He last Monday. 

4. My mother has with him. 

5. It is lonely at home since they away. 

6. I did not know they were until I woke up Monday 

morning. 

7. Nothing seems the same when your mother is . 

8. I wish they had not . 

9. I to my aunt's house for dinner last night. 

10. I have there every Friday night for almost a year. 

The story of How Jack Went to Seek his Fortune ^ may 
be told to the class, if it is not already familiar. Use the 
expressions, ^^He had not gone far when he met a dog, '^ and 
^^They had not gone far when they met a cat,'^ etc. The 
class may reproduce the story orally, and three or four pupils 
may tell it to a second-year class, each pupil telling a part 
of the story. The more or less unconscious repetition of the 
phrase had not gone is an excellent method of establishing 
the habit of using the correct form. 

Lessons 82 and 83. The language game needs no explana- 
tion. It may be used also in Lesson 83 if the teacher desires. 

Lesson 84. Mistakes are common in two forms of the verb 
come. Come is used for came: ^' He come over to my house 
yesterday.^' Has came is used for has come. He came and 
he has come should be noted for the Memory Books. 

The exercises in the book will probably give ample drill. 
If extra drill is desired, use the following paragraph: 

1 This story may be found in the Merrill Second Reader, 



72 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Supply came or come. 

My little cousin to see us last week. He has never to 

visit us before. He all alone on the train from Chicago. We 

all went to the station to meet him when he . The train 

in an hour late. Robert out on the platform, but he did not 

see us. We did not know that the train had . Robert began 

to cry because he thought we had not to meet him. After a 

few minutes we out on the platform. Father telegraphed to 

Uncle Ned to tell him that Robert had . 



Lesson 85. The errors to be corrected in this lesson are, of 
course, written rather than spoken. Any additional exercises 
must be written work. Dictation exercises to be corrected by 
the class afford the best means of drill. Let as many pupils 
as possible work at the board. 

Give the pupils little devices to apply as tests when they 
are puzzled. For instance: 

Their always means belonging to them. When in doubt, supply 
these words for their. 

Hear is something you do with your ears — h(ear). 

Two is always a numeral. 

To and too are more difficult and can be taught only by numerous 
examples. To is the common form and is not often misused. Too 
must be taught in its two most common uses; namely, with the 
meaning of also (I am going too), and in such^ expressions as too 
mucky too little^ etc. 

The dictation exercises on pages 150 and 155 of the Manual 
give additional drill in the use of their j these , and twOj toOj to. 
If these seem too difficult for the class, use the following 
simple sentences for a drill, following the plan described on 
page 160 of the text. 

to, two, too 

1. My sister is going to a party. 

2. Mother said I might go too. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 73 

3. I know three little sisters; I think you know them too. 

4. I have two eyes, two ears, two feet, and two hands. 

5. I spoke to two people on my way to school. 

hear, here 

1. Now is that sad time of the year 
When no flower or leaf is here. 

2. Daffodils, daffodils, say, do you hear? 
Summer is coming and springtime is here. 

3. I cannot hear what you say. 

4. Stand here where I can see you. 

5. Why are you waiting here? 

there, their 

1. Of all the beasts he learned the language. 
Learned their names and all their secrets. 

2. Hark, was there ever so merry a note? 

3. Down along the rocky shore 
They make their home. 

4. There was a tree down in the wood. 

5. There are two robins building their nest in the tree. 

Lesson 86. A plan for teaching The Sandpiper will be 
found on page 33 of the Manual. 

L.esson 87. Make the exercise on page 110 as definite as 
possible. For example: 

1. Make up two sentences telling about things you can teach 

your younger brother or sister to do. 

2. Make up two sentences telHng things your father teaches you 

to do. 

3. Make up sentences about two things you have learned to do in 

school. 

4. Make up two sentences telling about things you would like 

to learn to do. 



74 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Additional drill in the use of the verbs learn and teach may- 
be provided by the game of ^^ Teacher/^ 

One pupil is chosen as teacher. She faces the class and says 
"I am going to teach the class. What would you like to learn?" 

John: Please teach me geography. 

Teacher (to the next pupil) : What would you like to learn? 

Tom: Please teach me geography and music. 

Teacher: What would you like to learn? 

Elsie: Please teach me geography, music, and writing. 

Each pupil called on repeats the subjects the others have men- 
tioned and adds one of his own. Any one who omits a subject that 
has been named, who fails to add a new subject, or who uses learn 
or teach incorrectly, takes the place of the ^Heacher'^ and the 
game begins again. 

The best drill for the use of said^ instead of says, is to be 
found in the reproduction of any favorite story containing 
considerable conversation. 

Lesson 88. This lesson should be correlated with the work 
of the arithmetic class. 

Lesson 89. This play differs from the play about the dog 
and the wolf (Lesson 71) in having two scenes instead of 
one. Help the children to make up the conversation. Tell 
them that some of the speeches are given in the story and 
that they may imagine the other things that the characters 
say. 

After considerable class discussion, different pupils may be 
called on to act their version of the conversation. The best 
speeches may be chosen by the class to be written on the 
board. The play in its finished form should contain con- 
tributions from as many members of the class as possible. 
Actors may be chosen and the play may be rehearsed 
and given before another class. The play might begin 
thus: 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 75 

Scene 1 
Time: Summer 

Place : A field near the ant's home 
Characters: The ant 

Her friend 
The grasshopper 
The ant^s friend: This is a very heavy grain of rice! 
The ant: Yes, but think of all the meals it will make next winter. 

Pull a little harder. 
The grasshopper (hopping gaily up to them): How do you do, 
Mother Ant? Why do you work so hard this fine day? 

Lesson 90. The use of the comma with the name of the 
person addressed is a very common one. Call attention 
to its use in reading matter. For additional drill use the 
exercise for copying on page 149 of the Manual. 

Lesson 91. For additional letter writing assignments see 
page 20. 

Lesson 92. Well is the form for special drill. Let the class 
answer the following questions, using the word well in each 
answer: 

1. Is he a good player? He plays welL 

2. Is he a good writer? He doesn^t write well. 

3. Is he a good runner? He runs well. 

4. Are they good readers? 

5. Is she a good cook? 

6. Is he a good swimmer? 

7. Is he a good catcher? 

8. Is she a good singer? 

9. Are they good workers? 
10. Are you a good speaker? 

For a written exercise, the answers may be written, using 
yes or no. For example, ^^Yes, he writes well.'' Thus one 
of the uses of the conama taught in Lesson 90 may be 
reviewed. 



76 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 93. Although in most classes pupils will not use 
their own dictionaries until the fifth year, they can be taught 
the purpose of the dictionary and should be familiar with 
some of the things that can be found there. 

In the fourth year the important thing to be taught 
about dividing words is the fact that it should be avoided — 
especially in short words. The best rule is to write all of 
the word on the next line. Call special attention, however, 
to words that must never in any case be divided. Show by 
pronunciation that words like though^ strength, and loved 
have only one syllable. Let the class look for divided words 
in their readers. 

Lesson 94. Let pupils who need drill in the use of ^^I 
haven ^t any,'^ instead of ^^I haven ^t got none/^ play this 
game. 

One pupil is blindfolded. One of the other pupils takes in his 
hand an article which has been decided upon, such as a piece of 
chalk, a pencil, or an eraser. 

Jane (blindfolded) : Tom, have you a piece of chalk? 

Tom: No, I haven't any. 

Jane: Elsie, have you a piece of chalk? 

Elsie: No, I haven't any. 

Jane: Ned, have you a piece of chalk? 

Ned: Yes, I have. (Takes Jane's place.) 

Another game (^^You can never find it there ^')? empha- 
sizing the correct use of negatives, is played thus: 

Anne goes to the cloakroom. The othqrs hide an object some- 
where in the room. Anne returns and hunts for the object. From 
time to time she may ask different pupils, ''Am I near it?" They 
reply, ''You can never find it there," or "Yes, you can find it there." 
If Anne wishes to "give up," she may say, "I can't find it any- 
where" and the game begins again. 

Lesson 95. The drill described in the book will probably 
be sufficient. 



LESSON HELPS: PART ONE 77 

Lesson 96. Talk with the class about Longfellow and his 
poems. Review The Village Blacksmith and any other poems 
with which the class is familiar. 

With most classes it will be necessary to describe a wind- 
mill and its work. Show as many pictures as possible. Tell 
about the land of windmills, Holland. Tell the story of 
Don Quixote and the windmill. 

Teach the meaning of the new words by the inductive 
method as far as possible. See page 49 of the Manual. 

Lesson 97. Drill in the correct use of sit and set may be 
provided by simple dramatization. Ask one pupil to act 
out the directions which you give. Another pupil tells what 
the first pupil did. The class writes this sentence on paper. 
For example: 

"Set this vase on the window-sill." 

First pupil does as directed. 

Second pupil says, "He set the vase on the window-sill." 

Class writes what the second pupil said. 

Directions : 

1. Set this vase on the window-sill. 

2. Sit on the front seat. 

3. Set the books on the desk. 

4. Sit between Mary and Helen. 

5. Sit in the fourth seat in the first row. 

6. Set the glass on the table. 

7. Sit in the teacher^s chair. 

8. Sit with your best friend. 

9. Set the box on the lower shelf. 

10. Sit up straight and fold your hands in front of you. 

Lesson 98. For drill use one of the dictation exercises on 
page 152 of the Manual. 

Lesson 99. Discuss with the class the subject of giving 
directions clearly. Refer to the rules for courtesy already 
discussed (Lesson 78). Read the story of John on page 122. 



78 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

To show the necessity for clearness, try to follow a pupil 's 
directions for finding something in the room. ^^ Dorothy, 
be ready to tell us exactly where to find the box of scissors/' 
Do exactly what Dorothy tells you to do, nothing more or 
less. If her directions have not been clear or adequate, the 
class will see where the difficulty lies. 

Let several pupils follow one another ^s directions. Dram- 
atize the exercise by letting one pupil take the part of a 
stranger and another the part of the person who gives the 
directions. 

For a written exercise, write a letter giving directions to a 
person who expects to visit the school. Tell him how to 
find your classroom. 

Lesson 100. If any of the errors given in the lesson are 
not made by your class, pass them by without calling 
attention to them. Provide similar sentences for drill, 
emphasizing the corrective work most needed. Note that 
all the sentences should be such as the pupils use in their 
daily speech. This is an excellent time to examine the Mem- 
ory Books and to review the expressions recorded. 

Lesson 101. If desired, the letter suggested as a written 
exercise for Lesson 99 above may be substituted for this 
letter. 

Lesson 102. Tell the story of the writing of the poem. 
The poem may be sung instead of being recited. The third 
stanza may be omitted. Make this a lesson in patriotism. 



FOURTH YEAR STANDARDS 

I. Oral Composition 

The ability to give a brief oral composition con- 
sisting of at least five short related sentences on a 
famiUar topic. The pupil should be able to face the 
class and to speak audibly and distinctly, avoiding 
the superfluous use of and, so^ and then. Oral talks 
should have a definite beginning, middle, and end. 

Standards of Oral Composition ^ 

The compositions are to be used by the teachers in grad- 
ing oral work. They are not intended to be used as models. 

Fair 

A Day in the Playground 

One day my sister and I went to the playground. Just as we 
were going to get on the swing, a little girl fell out. Then she be- 
gan to cry. Then my sister said, ^' She is just scared; she is not hurt.^' 

(This is an advance over Grade III because of the element 
of suspense and rehef . The use of direct discourse marks a 
step in advance. There is an attempt at subordination, but 
the repetition of the ^Hhen^' puts it in the Fair class for this 
grade.) 

Good 

My Pet 

My pet was a little puppy. He was about six months of age. 
I liked him because he was smart and did not bite anybody. When 

1 These standards are taken from English for Elementary Schools, pub- 
lished by the Board of Education of the City of Chicago. 

79 



80 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

I came home from school he used to jump upon me and Hck my face. 
I used to feed him three times a day. I raised him until he was 
about four years of age. Then he was run over by an automobile. 

(This is a Good composition for Grade IV because the pupil 
has told what made his pet different from other dogs. It is 
not Excellent because of the stilted succession of facts which 
seem to have occurred to the child one at a time rather than 
as a whole.) 

Excellent 
How I Played Tom Sawyer 

One day a lady asked me to take some rocks out of her yard. 
She was going to make a garden. She told me that she would give 
me a dollar if I would. I wanted to go to the lake that day so I 
stood and looked at the big job. Pretty soon a crowd of boys came 
along. They said to me, "Charles, are you going to the lake?" 
I said, "No, I am having a good time playing cowboy." They said, 
"How do you play?" "All you have to do is to knock that can 
off the pole." They began to throw. Pretty soon all of the rocks 
were out of the yard. 

(This is more mature than the Good composition for this 
grade because it follows a plan through to a successful com- 
pletion. The direct discourse is used naturally and effec- 
tively.) 

Superior 
When I Had My Picture Taken 

Coming home from Sunday School one bright summer day, my 
mother said, "You must have your picture taken, for you look so 
nice." She was very proud of me with my white linen dress on, 
with blue ribbon in the holes of lace around the cuffs and collar. 
My hair was curled and one curl at the top was tied with a pretty 
blue ribbon. I was very happy when I got the pictures. 

(The merit of this composition is the use of descriptive 
detail. The writer has observed very closely and has pre- 



FOURTH YEAR STANDARDS 81 

sented a picture clear enough to be painted. A higher grade 
Superior pupil would probably have begun with the quota- 
tion and would probably have been more subjective.) 

II. Written Composition 

A. The ability to write a short original paragraph 
consisting of at least five related sentences. The 
paragraph form should be closely observed, and 
the pupil should show the ability to recognize the 
sentence unit. 

B. The ability to write a simple friendly letter, 
correct in form and interesting in content. 

III. Correct Usage 

The habit of using correct English in everyday 
activities. Errors should be corrected as needed by 
the class. By the end of the fourth year, no child 
should habitually make these errors: 

1. Confusion of learn and teach, sit and set, 

2. The incorrect use of the forms of common 
irregular verbs, such as lend, blow, burst, go, shine, 
shake, 

3. The confusion of well and good. 

4. The confusion of too, tivo, to, 

5. The confusion of them and those, 

IV. Technicalities 

A. Capitals 

1. The use of capitals required at the end of 
the third grade 

2. In the parts of the friendly letter 

3. In the addressing of envelopes 

4. In the first word of a direct quotation 

5. In titles 

6. In words referring to the Deity 



82 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

B. Punctuation 

1. The use of marks required at the end of the 
third grade 

2. Marks used in the parts of a letter and in 
addressing an envelope 

3. Quotation marks 

4. Comma 

a. With direct quotations 
6. After yes and no 

c. With the name of a person addressed 

d. In a series 

5. Apostrophe 

a. In plural possessives 
6. In contractions 

C. Abbreviations 

1. Common titles 

2. Others as needed by the class 

D. Arrangement 

1. Form of written compositions as required 
at the end of the third year 

2. The form of a friendly letter 

3. The addressing of an envelope 



PART TWO 

Lesson 1. This first lesson of the year gives a good oppor- 
tunity for the teacher to measure the abihty of the class in 
oral self-expression. The story lends itself admirably to 
reproduction and may also serve as a basis for personal 
adventure stories. In testing the pupil 's ability, the teacher 
must not set too high a standard. A beginning fifth-year 
class should be judged by the standards set for the end of 
the fourth ^^^ear rather than by the standards of the fifth- 
year class with which the teacher has probably been working 
during the previous term. 

Lesson 2. This lesson should test the knowledge of tech- 
nicahties studied during the previous year. Lessons 1 and 2 
should give the teacher some idea of the points she must 
stress during the term. 

Lesson 3. The study of the picture should be an informal 
conversation leading up to Lesson 4. 

Lesson 4. Practice in telling a story from a simple out- 
line helps the child to keep to his subject, and serves as a 
beginning of the more formal outline work which is an im- 
portant part of this year's work. 

Tell the pupils that they can make their talks more inter- 
esting by exhibiting the articles they have made. Pictures 
or diagrams may be drawn on the board to illustrate the 
talks. 

Lesson 5. Pupils have already learned to select the 
thought or topic in a paragraph. This lesson teaches the 

83 



84 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

new term, toyic sentence. Practice in finding the thought in 
a paragraph is most important in every school subject and 
should not be confined to the English class. 

In studying this paragraph, bring out the fact that many 
of the forest "people is a phrase which is explained by the whole 
paragraph. Song birds , frogs, turtles, and chipmunks are all 
forest people. Go to sleep is explained by in the banks and 
bottom of the pond, under the water, in comfortable burrows. 
Help the pupils to discover for themselves that the first 
sentence is the topic sentence. In the oral exercises show, 
by questions similar to those on page 132, that the first 
sentence in each paragraph is the topic sentence. For the 
present use only paragraphs in which the topic is stated at 
the beginning. Show that try to open the door of his cage is 
explained by the first paragraph, and that the most beautiful 
palace is explained by the second paragraph. A plan of the 
second paragraph may be written on the board. Ask the 
class to name the things that made the palace beautiful. 

Topic sentence: It was the most beautiful palace in the world. 

1. The halls 

2. The floors 

3. The walls 

4. The ceiling 

5. The things which made it seem like summer 

Other simple paragraphs for the study of the topic sentence 
may be found on pages 149, 150, and 152 of the Manual. 

Lesson 6. Before the books are opened, talk with the class 
about birds. Make lists of birds the pupils know. Ask 
what birds do for us. Ask what we can do for the birds. 
Read or tell the story of The Birds of Killingworth by Long- 
fellow. Open the books. Read the paragraph about the 
Norwegian custom. Call attention to the topic sentence. 

For the oral compositions, suggest two topic sentences, 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 85 

half the class preparing each topic. Remind the pupils 
that the paragraph should explain the topic sentence. 
The two sets of paragraphs will, therefore, tell different 
things. 

1. Birds ought to be protected because they help us in many ways. 

2. There are many things we can do for our friends the birds. 

The parts of the sentences to be explained are in itahcs. 
Call for class criticism of the talks from this viewpoint: 
did the paragraph explain the topic sentence? 

Lesson 7. Make this first letter-writing lesson of the year 
a test of form by dictating the model letter. Correct the 
exercises carefully, calling attention to mistakes in form. 

For suggestions on the general subject of letter writing, 
see pages 17-23. 

Lesson 8. Let the class examine one of their textbooks. 
See who can first find the answers to these questions: 

1. What is the name of the book? In how many places can you 
find the title? 

2. Who wrote the book? Where did you find the author's name? 

3. How many chapters (or lessons) are there in the book? Find 
the answer to this question in two ways. 

4. How many pages does the book contain? 

Choose a certain picture, topic, or chapter in the book. 
Let the class see who can find it first by turning over the 
pages. Then say, ^^ We are going to learn how to find things 
much more quickly and easily.^^ Turn to page 136 of Hodge 
and Lee's Elementary English. Read the first para- 
graph quickly. Tell the class to find the table of contents 
and the index of the textbook they are examining. 

Ask the class to read the second paragraph on page 136 
carefully so that they will be able to explain the use of the 



86 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

table of contents with reference to the other textbook. Do 
the same with the paragraph about the index. 

Select several topics which the pupils can look up quickly 
and easily in the index aad contents. Repeat this exercise 
at frequent intervals, as it is excellent preparation for work 
with the dictionary. 

Lesson 9. This game aims to fix the habit of using it isnH 
instead of it ainH, For suggestions as to the use of language 
games, see page 27 of the Manual. 

Lesson 10. Help the class to plan interesting beginning 
and ending sentences as suggested in the Manual for Les- 
sons 21, 47, and 56, Part One. For class criticism watch 
for the following things. One row may be appointed as a 
committee to criticize each of these points. 

1. Good posture 4. Unnecessary words 

2. Interesting beginning 5. Correct speaking 

3. Clear enunciation 6. Keeping to the subject 

7. Good ending 

Lesson 11. A and an are usually correctly used, except 
in writing. Pupils need only to have their attention called 
to the difference that they are accustomed to make in 
speaking. 

Write on the board this riddle, ''On the Vowels'' : 

We are little airy creatures, 
All of different voice and features, 
One of us in glass is set, 
One of us you'll find in jet. 
T'other you may see in tiUj 
And the fourth a box within. 
If the fifth you should pursue, 
It can never fly from you. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 87 

After discussing the riddle, write on the board the vowels 
a, 6, ij 0, and u^ and a noun beginning with each vowel : 

apple elm tree ice-cream soda olive umbrella 

Let the pupils make up sentences using these words with an. 
Write a sentence under each word: 

I have an apple. 

There is an elm tree. 

I ordered an ice-cream soda. 

Please take an olive. 

May I borrow an umbrella? 

Let the pupils supply a descriptive word beginning with a 
consonant before each of the vowel words: 

I have a red apple. 

There is a tall elm tree. 

I ordered chocolate ice-cream soda. 

Please take a ripe olive. 

May I borrow a black umbrella? 

Ask what other change was made in each sentence. Write 
the changed sentence on the board. 

Open the books. The firvst five sentences at the beginning 
of the lesson reverse the exercise the pupils have just com- 
pleted. Read these five sentences, omitting the descriptive 
words, agedy east, idle, old, and unkind. By this time the 
class will be able to answer the question in sentence 6. 

Call attention to words beginning with h and u which seem 
like exceptions to the rules. Be sure that the pupils see the 
difference in sound between hill and hour; between uniform 
and umbrella; between useful and ugly. 

Lesson 12. This lesson is sufficiently developed in the 
text. The rule for the use of capitals should be, ^^The first 
word and all important words of a title should begin with 



88 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

capitals. '^ Apply the rule to the titles of the pupils' written 
compositions. 

Lesson 13. The three stanzas are like paragraphs. Each 
has a thought or topic: 

1. Where we are going. 

2. Where we have been. 

3. What we are planning to do at home. 

Teach the meaning of difficult words by the inductive 
method wherever possible. Words which may need explana- 
tion are blithej merry , gale, dusky. All of these are good for 
synonym work. 

The dramatization suggested on page 142 should be simple 
and informal. Let several groups of pupils act out their 
ideas. Let the class choose the best conversation. 

Lesson 14. This lesson gives an opportunity for letter 
writing and for a review of capitals as used in titles. 

Lesson 15. For suggestions on Picture Study, read care- 
fully pages 28-31 of the Manual. 

Lesson 16. This lesson continues the study of outlining 
begun in the simple phrase outlines of the previous year and 
in the plan for a composition in Lesson 4. Make the pupils 
see the purpose of the outline. Emphasize the fact that the 
outline precedes the composition. It is the framework on 
which the composition, oral or written, is built. Too often, 
from frequent practice in outlining paragraphs in reading 
matter, pupils get the idea that the outline is something 
made after the paragraph has been written. The outline 
has its use as a test for orderliness of thought and as a means 
of finding the thought, but at this time its chief importance 
is as an aid to clear thinking and careful planning. 

Plan many paragraphs with the class, using the out- 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 89 

line form. The cooperative outline has great possibilities. 
Announce the subject and limit it by discussing different 
phases of the subject and choosing a topic sentence. Then 
discuss the points to be taken up and list them on the 
board. In this exercise the entire class may write the 
paragraph. Let the pupils test their own paragraphs by 
reference to the outline. 

Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the necessity for 
limiting the subject to a single phase. Children are far too 
much inclined to generalize, to spread their talk out over a 
large subject. The first step in developing the ^^ paragraph 
sense ^' is to train children to pick out a single point which is 
interesting. The topic sentences suggested in the text have 
been chosen with this in mind, but the teacher herself can 
best assist her own class in finding the single interesting phase 
of a subject. The following suggestions may prove helpful: 

1. General subject: Our schoolhouse 

2. Limiting the subject: What will you describe? Your class- 
room? The assembly hall? The playground? Suppose you choose 
the playground. What will you tell about it? What do you play 
there? What does the playground seem like when all the pupils are 
at play? How does it look in schooltime or on Sundays? Do you 
think the playground should be used more than it is? Can the girls 
play there as much as the boys? 

3. Suggested topic sentences: 

1. Our school playground is the best place in town to play 
games. 

2. Our school playground is the noisiest place on the street 
during the noon hour. 

3. During schooltime our playground is practically deserted. 

4. Our school playground should be used on Saturdays as 
well as school days. 

Lessons 17 and 18. These lessons may serve as the start- 
ing point for a ^ ^Clean-Up Day^' project in which language, 
civics, and hygiene are correlated. The project may include 



90 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

some of the topics in the following list and may be worked 
out by a plan similar to the Class Projects in the text. (See 
pages 359-372. See also the suggestions for projects in 
the Manual, page 12.) 

1. A letter to the local health board, asking to have rubbish 
collected after it has been gathered. 

2. A letter to the parents or to the principal telling of the plans 
for a "Clean-Up Day.'^ 

3. " Donets '^ for a clean town. (A list of rules, affording practice 
in the use of donH instead of doesnH.) 

4. Clean-Up Day Stories. (Use those suggested in Lesson 39, 
page 174.) 

5. Writing a report of the work done for the school paper or 
the town paper. 

Lesson 19. The most common mistake is the use of the 
various forms of the verb lie. The best results will be ob- 
tained if lie is thoroughly taught in all its forms before this 
lesson is taken up. Several days should intervene before 
lay is taught. Lesson 19 should be used as a test in the use 
of the two words. 

Guard especially against errors in the use of the past tense 
of lie and the ing form. Let the pupils give original sentences 
using is lying, are lying, lay, have lain, etc. Make the di- 
rections definite. Some of these suggestions may be helpful 
toward this end: 

1. Give three sentences about the things on my desk. Use is 
lying or are lying in each sentence. 

2. Make up 3entences using these pairs of words and the form of 
the word lie that shows present time (lie, lies, is lying, are 
lying) : 

baby — cradle dog — rug 

shoes — floor pencils — desk 

cap-table pocketbook — sidewalk 

3. Change the sentences from the present to past time (change 
lie and is lying to lay). 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 91 

4. Make up sentences using these groups of words, with has lain 
or have lain: 

bed — all night dog — all the morning 

sand — all day rubbers — since last night 

leaves — all the winter cap — since yesterday 

The verb lay may be treated in a similar manner. Put 
the emphasis on the meanings of the two words. 

Lesson 20. Correct this dictation lesson for capitals and 
periods. Do not call attention to commas. 

Lesson 21. Paucity of vocabulary is most keenly felt in 
describing people or things. The aim of this lesson is to add 
to the pupils' store of adjectives. Have the pupils make 
lists of good descriptive words from their readers. The 
'^ Who's Who?'' game described on page 288 of the text may 
be played. Be careful to avoid unpleasant personalities. 

Lesson 22. This lesson takes up outlining from another 
point of view, emphasizing the outline as an aid in finding 
the thought in reading material. The lesson should be sup- 
plemented by the outlining of many paragraphs selected 
from other textbooks and reading matter. Paragraphs for 
this purpose may be found in the Manual on pages 148-153. 

Call attention to the fact that selecting the topic sentences 
is the most important step in finding the thought in the para- 
graphs. Show the pupils that the next step in thought- 
getting is to find the plan that the writer had in mind be- 
fore the paragraphs were written. 

The exercise in choosing a title is a valuable means of 
testing whether pupils have gained the thought of the whole 
passage. Pupils will readily see that ^^How Much Mail is 
Sent Each Year" applies only to a very small part of the 
selection. ^^The Work of the Post Office Department" is 
probably the most suitable title, although one or two of the 
others are also appropriate. 



92 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Teach the form of the outUne with topics and subtopics 
by the exercise in copying. 

Lesson 23. Drill in the use of these words may take the 
form of simple dramatization. Let the pupils act out these 
directions given by the teacher or by one of the class: 

1. Bring me that book. 

2. Take that book to Mary. 

3. Bring those papers to the desk. 

4. Take them to the back of the room. 

5. Stand between John and Tom. 

6. Put that book between your arithmetic and your geography. 

7. Divide the piece of chalk among three girls. 

8. Tell those three girls not to quarrel among themselves. 

9. Let Mary have a pencil. 
10. Get a pencil from the box. 

IL Take a pen in your hand. Tell me what you have. 
12. Let Dorothy have a book. Tell me what she has. 

After the pupil has followed the direction, another pupil 
may tell what he did. ^^He brought you the book.^' ^^He 
took the book to Mary.^' ^^Mary has sl pencil/' etc. This 
gives drill in the past as well as the present forms. 

Lesson 24. Tell the class something about Whittier's life 
and read one or two of his other poems. In School Days and 
the Corn Song are the ones they will probably most enjoy. 
Make the poet a real personality by means of pictures and 
anecdotes. 

The Barefoot Boy is, of course, too long to memorize as a 
whole. Let the pupils select the parts they like best for this 
purpose. (Read carefully the section on the Teaching of 
Memory Selections, pages 31-36.) 

Lesson 25. This exercise may be repeated as often as 
seems necessary. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 93 

Lessons 26 and 27. If possible, at the time this letter is 
studied, have the class write real letters which will be mailed. 
For suggestions see page 20 of the Manual. 

Lesson 28. The distinction between possessives and con- 
tractions is a difficult one for many children and requires 
an abundance of careful drill. 

Remind the pupils that a contraction can be recognized 
by substituting the uncontracted form you are for youWe, 
it is for it^Sj etc. Since the error is a written one, dictation 
exercises are useful. It^s and its require special drill. Use 
the following exercise: 

It^s an exciting time at our house now, for it's almost Christmas. 
My brother and I are wondering what our presents will be. I want 
a doll that opens and shuts its eyes. I hope its hair will be golden 
and its eyes blue. Jinrniy wants a new drum. He wants its top to 
be made of skin like a real drum. He had a tin one but it's broken 
now. Mother says that ifs only three days until Christmas, but 
we think ifs still far away. 

Lessons 29 and 30. The aim of the dictation exercise in 
Lesson 29 is the proper punctuation of sentences. This 
exercise and Lesson 30 offer two methods of identifying 
sentences. If the teacher prefers, instead of dictating the 
paragraph, she may write it on the board without capitals 
or periods, letting the pupils supply them without reference 
to the books. 

Lesson 31. Assign one part of the story to each row. 
When the story is told, call for class criticism and correction 
until each part has been improved. Appoint a committee to 
criticize each of the points named on page 167. Let the class 
choose four pupils to tell the story to a fourth-year class. 

Lessons 32 and 33. If the teacher wishes, any suitable 
project may be substituted for these lessons. See the sug- 
gestions for projects on pages 12-13 of the Manual. 



94 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 34. For additional drill use one or both of the 
games suggested for Lesson 94, Part One (p. 76 of the Man- 
ual). 

Lesson 35. Use this opportunity to explain to the class 
the use of the titles printed in heavy type in their textbooks. 
Show the pupils that these titles are really an outline of 
their lesson. Make Lesson 35 an exercise in finding the 
thought in a paragraph. See suggestions for Lessons 5, 
16, 22. 

Lesson 36. Let the class tell any stories they may know 
about Sir Walter Raleigh. The teacher may supplement 
their stories by telling some of the incidents suggested by 
the following: 

a. Boyhood and youth among the sailors of Devonshire — ^meeting 
with Queen Elizabeth — the story of the cloak. 

b. Voyages to the New World — the search for gold — conflict with 
Spain — introduction of tobacco and potatoes into England. 

c. The two colonies founded by Raleigh — the name of Virginia — 
Roanoke — little Virginia Dare — Croatoan. 

d. War with Spain — the Invincible Armada — the fate of Sir 
Walter. 

The following references may be found helpful: 
Kelley, Sir Walter Raleigh 
McMuRRAY, Pioneers on Land and Sea 
Pratt, Early Colonies, pp. 33-49 
Hart and Hazard, Colonial Children, pp. 165-170 

Lesson 37. For additional drill use the dictation exercise 
viii on page 150 of the Manual. 

Lesson 38. The purpose of this lesson is to help the pupil 
to express his own opinion clearly and forcefully, leading 
up to simple argumentative themes. The teacher can be of 
great assistance by indirect suggestions as to suitable topics. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 95 

The simple outline should be made without help from the 
teacher. 

Lesson 39. For suggestions on teaching this lesson, see 
the discussion of Lesson 2 of Part One. (Manual, page 4L) 

Lesson 40. This lesson should be an aid to the apprecia- 
tion of poetry and should give a new interest in words. Up 
to this time word study has been chiefly concerned with 
synonyms as a means of increasing the vocabulary and giving 
variety. The pupil has been interested in learning new 
words with almost the same meaning as words he already 
knows. In this lesson he begins to discriminate and to look 
for different shades of meaning. 

The game described on page 176 may be played with 
these words: 

Names Words to Choose from 
baby trots 

man waddles 

camel creeps 

duck walks 

horse strides 

Give a few examples, " Man walks, horse trots,'' etc. 

Lesson 41. Use the dictation exercise on page 53. 

Lesson 42. Let the pupils find in their readers several 
examples of direct quotations. Emphasize the fact that each 
of these quotations gives the exact words of the speaker. Tell 
the class that sometimes we wish to repeat what some one 
has said but may not remember or may not wish to give his 
exact words. Change some of the direct quotations they 
have found to the indirect form. The pupils will at once 
see the difference in sound and meaning. Open the books 
to Lesson 42. Read the two quotations. Ask the class 



96 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

which tells the exact words of the speaker. Teach the defink 
tion of an indirect ( = not direct) quotation. Then compare 
the two quotations as to appearance. Write several simple 
direct quotations on the board. Let the pupils write them 
in the indirect form. Reverse the process. 

Lesson 43. The game may be used to review any abbrevi- 
ations needed. 

Lesson 44. In this year the writing of a simple business 
letter should be taught. Assignments should be as much as 
possible like the business letters pupils will need to write 
outside of school. Suggestions may be found on page 21. 

The form of the business letter should be taught by the 
method used in the friendly letter. Dictation exercises, 
work at the board, and copying are all good methods of 
teaching correct form and arrangement. It may be helpful 
to show the pupils several real business letters, typewritten 
or written by hand, calling attention to arrangement and 
form. 

Lessons 45 and 46. This poem is rich in beautiful and ex- 
pressive words. The class should be made to feel its beauty. 
If the poem is to be memorized, read carefully pages 31-36 
of the Manual. 

Read aloud to the class the poems September and October 
by Helen Hunt Jackson. 

For other color and sound words, let the pupils examine 
The Barefoot Boy (page 155). 

It may be useful to call attention to the use of lie and lay 
in this poem. Emphasize the fact that the poet said ^Hhey 
lie down to sleep.'' (See Lesson 19.) 

Lesson 47. The teacher may substitute some of the words 
on pages 92 or 103, if these more nearly meet the needs of 
her class. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 97 

Lesson 48. This lesson continues work with direct and 
indirect quotations. There should be considerable drill in 
changing from one to the other. Most of this drill should be 
written. Work by individual pupils at the board, with class 
correction of errors, is especially valuable. 

For a test, use dictation exercise xiii on page 154 of the 
Manual. 

Lesson 49. See page 72 of the Manual. Use the dicta- 
tion exercise indicated on page 155. 

Lesson 50. For additional drill in ing words, see page 215 
of the text, and page 49 of the Manual. 

Lesson 51. Some of the letters suggested on pages 20-21 
of the Manual may be substituted for these letters. 

Lesson 52. This lesson should be emphasized or not, 
according to the needs of the class. 

Lesson 53. The telephone is so much a part of modern 
life that definite instruction as to its uses should be given in 
the schools. Exercises in the use of the telephone are espe- 
cially valuable for teaching courtesy and for practice in clear 
enunciation. A pupil who habitually mumbles in giving an 
oral composition may be made to speak distinctly if he is 
^ talking over the telephone.^' A telephone conversation 
in the form of a dialogue is an interesting and useful exer- 
cise. A timid pupil can be persuaded to take part without 
self-consciousness, when he need not face the class alone. 

Telephone conversations should be as simple and natural 
as possible. 

The use of a telephone directory in the classroom is a 
direct aid to dictionary study, affording excellent drill in 
finding names arranged in alphabetical order. 



98 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 54. If desired, one of the sentence games described 
on pages 46 or 78 may be used at this time. 

Lesson 55. Remind the class of the necessity for address- 
ing envelopes clearly and correctly. 

Lesson 56. Other poems which may be read for action and 
sound words are The Children's Hour, Rain in Summer, 
Paul Revere' s Ride, 

Other action words which may be emphasized are run, 
jump, leap, hop, race. 

This may be a good time to teach words to use in conver- 
sations. This may be done by means of a game similar to 
the one described on page 193. Choose some easy sentence, 
such as, ^^Who is that boy?'' Write the following list of 
words on the board. 

shouted whined sobbed 

stammered whispered mumbled 

One pupil may repeat the sentence in a manner suggesting 
one of the words in the list. The class may guess which word 
he has chosen. 

Lesson 57. If the class does not know the story of Joseph, 
tell it in a simple form. Read the section on Picture Study, 
page 28 of the Manual. 

Lesson 58. This is a test in correct form and may be re- 
peated occasionally as the needs of the class require. 

Lesson 59. Preceding this lesson there will have been 
some drill in alphabetizing words, considering only the first 
letter. This lesson takes up alphabetizing to the third or 
fourth letters. 

Make the pupil see the need of knowing how words are 
alphabetized. Call attention not only to the dictionary but 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 99 

to the indexes of their textbooks, the telephone directory, 
your own record books, etc. Let the pupils make alphabeti- 
cal lists of their own names for use in keeping records on 
the board. Let them alphabetize spelling hsts, etc. 

The pupils now probably have small dictionaries. They 
should be taught to find words rapidly and easily. Have 
contests in finding a certain number of words quickly, or 
in alphabetizing a list of a dozen or more words. 

Lesson 60. For additional drill let the class find in their 
readers or other textbooks sentences using connective words. 
See who can find the largest number of examples of the use 
of a certain connective. The sentences should be copied and 
read in class. 

Lesson 61. There are few people who know any stanzas 
of this poem except the first. Only a very small number 
could write even the first stanza. Make this lesson a patri- 
otic one. Emphasize the fact that every American should 
know the two songs. The Star-Spangled Banner and America, 
and that he should be able to say or write the words correctly 
as well as to hum the tune. 

Lesson 62. Use the card drill suggested on page 26 in 
connection with this lesson. 

Lesson 63. If additional drill in the use of sit and set is 
needed, use the exercise described in the Manual for Lesson 
97 of Part One. See page 77. 

Lessons 64 and 65. This is a somewhat more difficult 
dramatization than any the class has yet attempted. Let 
the class first read the story silently. Then two or three 
pupils may reproduce it orally, the other members of the 
class acting as critics. 

Proceed with the dramatization. '^Set the scene'' by 



100 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

discussing the three divisions of the action. List the char- 
acters. Let different pupils suggest conversation for the 
characters. Choose the best speeches and write the play. 
The teacher may write the first scene on the board; the others 
should be written by the pupils. Each speech should be 
discussed in class or acted before the class before it is incor- 
porated into the written form. For example, two pupils may 
be called on to give the conversation between the tyrant and 
Pythias as the latter pleads to go home. Two others may 
give their idea of the same conversation. The class criti- 
cizes, improves, and chooses the speeches they like best. 
The finished play may be given by pupils chosen by the class. 

The first scene might begin in this way: 
Dionysius (seated on his throne) : Pythias, stand before me. 

(Pythias stands before the throne with his hands chained behind 
him.) 
Dionysius: Pythias, for the crime you have committed I pronounce 

sentence. You are condemned to die. 
Pythias (kneeling) : Oh, king, grant me one request. 
Dionysius (frowning) : Name it. 

Pythias: Let me go home, arrange my business affairs, and kiss my 
mother, my father, and my brothers and sisters farewell. 
Let me see them once more before I die. 
Dionysius (laughing): Aha! I see your trick. Do you think I 
don't know that you would never return? No, you shall 
die to-morrow! 
Damon (rushing up and kneeling) : Oh, king, grant my request. I 
will become a prisoner in place of Pythias. Let him depart. 
If he does not return, I will die in his stead. 
Dionysius (reluctantly) : Very well, though I think you're a foolish 
young man to take such a risk. 

Lesson 66. This is a short memory selection and requires 
no special comment. 

Lesson 67. Read the discussion of letter writing, page 17. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 101 

Lesson 68. Additional stories may be suggested by the 
teacher. This lesson may be used in planning a story pro- 
gram to be given before another class. Let the pupils prac- 
tice telling their stories. Take a vote for the best story- 
tellers and prepare the program. If a story is long, different 
parts may be assigned to two or three pupils. The class will 
enjoy the preparations and will cooperate more readily if 
committees are appointed. Those who have no part in the 
program itself should be chosen for these committees. 

The invitation committee writes the invitations. They may de- 
cide on a general invitation or individual invitations for the members 
of the other class. 

The -program committee prints the program on the board, chooses 
some one to make the announcements, and decides on songs or 
additional numbers for the program. 

The decoration committee decorates the room. If pictures il- 
lustrating the stories chosen can be secured, these will add special 
interest. If not, leaves, flowers, flags, drawings, etc., may be used 
as decorations. 

The entertainment committee meets the guests, arranges for their 
seating, and makes them welcome. 

Lesson 69. Add to this lesson words which your own class 
has diflficulty in pronouncing. 

Lesson 70. Prepare other questions to be used for rapid 
oral drill. Use as in a spelling match. 

Answer, using her and me or she and I: 

1. Who are going to the party? 

2. Who live on Elm Street? 

3. Who has new shoes? 

4. Who is in this class? 

5. Who sits in the front row? 

6. With whom were they speaking? 

7. On whom did I call? 



102 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

8. For whom was the man looking? 

9. To whom shall I give the pencil? 
10. Who will go with me? 

Use other answers. You and me or you and I; Sarah and me, 
Sarah and I, etc. 

Lesson 71. For hero stories suggest: 

Abraham Lincoln Sir Walter Raleigh 

George Washington Columbus 

Benjamin Franklin Theodore Roosevelt 

The lesson gives a good opportunity for the use of syn- 
onyms. Call attention to some of these: 



began 


commenced 


hasten 


hurry 


single 


one 


large 


great 


prefer 


choose 


replied 


answered 



Lesson 72. These forms may be used for visualization as 
suggested on page 26 of the Manual. Note that the cor- 
rect form is to be written on the cards. The pupils may 
write the cards as part of this lesson. 

Lesson 73. Be sure that the letters are simple, natural, 
and correct in form. 

Lesson 74. Avoid poems by Bums which offer too many 
difficulties in the matter of dialect. Before the study of the 
poem, read pages 31-36 of the Manual. 

Lessons 75 and 76* In these lessons review the proper 
addressing of envelopes. Remind the class of the motto, 
'^Help the Postman.'' Criticize the addressed envelopes 
from this point of view. 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 103 

Lesson 77. This mistake should be fairly uncommon by 
this time. If the class needs extra drill, review Lesson 94 
in Part One, and the additional exercises suggested for its 
use in the Manual. 

Lesson 78. Make this lesson as much like a real trip to 
Mount Vernon as possible. Post cards showing the house, 
the rooms, and the grounds are easy to secure. In the 
description of the house, emphasize the importance of telling 
the general appearance first. No elaborate descriptions 
should be expected, but children can be taught the general 
principle invaluable in any description: impressions first, 
details afterwards. 

Lesson 79. Let the class make simple sentences using 
want to, donH know, give me, larger than, and other words 
used in the second part of this lesson. Let one row prepare 
the pronunciation drill on these words for the class. Let 
another row keep a list of words mispronounced in other 
recitations. Use the list for class drill- 
Lessons 80 and 81. These are general review lessons in 
addressing envelopes. The topics for discussion in Lesson 
80 make good subjects for more formal oral compositions. 
Each talk should be illustrated by an addressed envelope. 

Lesson 82. Suggest that the diary entries for each day be 
confined to a single topic; for example, the most interesting 
thing that happened during that day. Do not accept this 
sort of entry: ^^Got up, had breakfast, went to school, 
played ball, ate supper, and went to bed.'' 

Lesson 83. Choose words from the geography, arithmetic, 
or hygiene lessons. Let the pupils choose the words, under 
the teacher's supervision. 



104 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 84. If additional drill on capitals is needed, repeat 
dictation exercise xii on page 153 of the Manual. 

Lessons 85-89. These lessons may be used as a class pro- 
ject, the preparation of a program about the Knights of the 
Round Table. This is the age when boys and girls are most 
interested in hero stories. Let the class read stories of the 
Round Table and prepare the stories to be told in class. 
Some of these books may be found useful: 

Pyle, King Arthur and His Knights; Story of the Grail. 

Lanier, Boy^s King Arthur 

Macleod, King Arthur and His Knights 

Frost, Knights of the Round Table 

Tappan, When Knights were Bold 

The play may be prepared by a method similar to that of 
the other dramatizations. (See especially Lessons 64 and 
65.) Remember that there should be an abundance of class 
discussion, conversation, and acting before the play can be 
written. These suggestions may be helpful: 

Scene L Merlin's palace. The old king, Uther Pendragon, 
wants to proclaim Arthur his heir. Merlin persuades the king to 
leave the little boy with him. Uther Pendragon leaves the palace. 
Merlin summons Sir Ector and gives the child to his safe- 
keeping. 

Scene 2. Many years later. The cathedral churchyard. Merlin 
and the archbishop are waiting for the people to gather to see the 
miracle. They discuss the proclamation which the archbishop has 
made. The people appear. The archbishop shows them the anvil 
and the sword and reads aloud the inscription. The knights and the 
barons try to draw forth the sword and fail. 

Scene 3. A few days later. The cathedral churchyard. Sir Ector, 
Kay, and young Arthur enter. Sir Ector calls for the archbishop. 
When he appears. Sir Ector commands Arthur to show the sword 
and tell how he came by it. Arthur explains. The archbishop has 



LESSON HELPS: PART TWO 105 

his servant ring the cathedral bells to call the people together. 
When they arrive, Arthur puts the sword into the stone and draws 
it forth again. The barons try to do the same and fail. Arthur 
draws forth the sword once more and is proclaimed king by the 
people with great rejoicing. 



FIFTH YEAR STANDARDS 

I. Oral Composition 

The ability to give a brief oral composition con- 
sisting of at least six well-constructed sentences on 
a familiar topic. The pupil should be able to face 
the class and to speak audibly, distinctly, and with 
correct pronunciation, avoiding the superfluous use 
of and, sOj and then. Oral paragraphs should follow 
a definite outline and show a beginning, middle, and 
end. 

Standards of Oral Composition ^ 

The compositions are to be used by the teachers in grad- 
ing oral work. They are not intended to be used as models. 

Fair 

Never Again 

One day I went to the show and stayed till night. My father 
came after me. When I saw him, I went out the other side. I 
went home and told my mother to tell my father not to whip me. 
After a while father came. Mother said, "Don^t whip him this 
time." Father called me and I told him I would never do it again. 

This is an advance over the Fair composition of fourth 
grade because of the variety in sentence structure. It is only 
Fair because it ends ineffectively. 

1 These standards are taken from English for Elementary Schools, pub- 
lished by the Board of Education of the City of Chicago. 

106 



FIFTH YEAR STANDARDS 107 

Good 

A Trick on Myself 

One day when I was playing with my friend, I thought I would 
play a trick on him. Just then his mother called him. When he 
had gone, I dug a hole and put a paper over it. Then I put dirt 
over to cover it. After a while he came out and said he had to go 
to the store. I went with him and forgot about the hole. When we 
came back, we started to play again. We went over by the hole and 
I fell in. You can imagine how my friend laughed when he saw I 
had been caught in my own trap. 

This composition has the merit of clearness and directness. 
It moves definitely toward its goal. The last sentence rounds 
out the narrative effectively. The sentence structure is in 
advance of Grade IV. The ^^one day^' beginning and the 
repetition of ^^play '^ in the first sentence keep this from being 
called Excellent. A higher grade pupil would probably have 
combined the third and fourth sentences in some way. 

Excellent 

Lucky for Me 

When I tell you this story, you will think it was lucky for me. 
When I had to stay after school one night, I stayed in till four 
o'clock. My mother had told me I should be home before then. 
When I got there, I was singing a song. All of a sudden I heard my 
cousin say, ^^That strap's going to play music on you.'' I began 
to cry but suddenly I began to laugh. Can you guess what I saw? 
It was the key. Then I knew that my mother was not home. Do 
you think I was sorry? I will tell you I was not. I ran all around 
the house and over to my cousin's screaming, "Lucky, lucky for 
me!" 

There is a rapidity of movement and variety of feeling 
which is above the average for this grade. The intimate 
relation between the speaker and the audience gives the 
composition a certain charm. The touch of sarcasm is good. 



108 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

The first sentence gives a good preparation and is a step 
in advance of the ^^One day'' type. The last sentence 
"clinches/' The composition cannot be called Superior 
because of the monotony in the sentence structure and a 
lack of clearness about the cousin's part in the story. 

Superior 

A Fishing Trip 

All of a sudden I felt a terrible jerk on my rod. I saw flopping 
alongside of the boat a great big black bass. ''Hey, Dad/^ I yelled, 
*'help me, help!'' My father got up to get my rod, but the oar of 
the boat hit him in the chest. My fish got away. That was the 
end of my fishing for the rest of the week. 

This composition is Superior for the fifth grade because of 
the prompt beginning. The narrative is vivid and shows a 
power of selection of important detail. The words ''jerk," 
"flopping," and "yelled" are well chosen. The impHcation 
in the last sentence is a clever touch. 

II. Written Composition 

A. The ability to write a short original composi- 
tion of one or two paragraphs. The composition 
should follow a carefully prepared outline. The 
pupil should also be able to use the outline as an aid 
to thought. 

B. The ability to write a simple and interesting 
friendly letter and a brief business letter, correct in 
form and content. 

III. Correct Usage 

The habit of using correct English in everyday 
activities. Errors should be corrected as needed by 
the class. By the end of the fifth year, no child 
should habitually make these errors: 

L Confusion of such words as lie and lay) 



FIFTH YEAR STANDARDS 109 

bring and take; among, between; there, their; an, a; 
iVs, its. 

2. Incorrect use of the forms of common irregu- 
lar verbs, such as break, choose, throw, hurt. 

3. The use of real for very, 

4. The pronoun in such forms as taller than me, 
instead of taller than I. 

IV. Technicalities 

A. Capitals 

1. In all the uses required at the end of the 
fourth year 

2. With names of religious denominations and 
political parties 

B. Punctuation 

1. Marks required at the end of the fourth year 

2. Colon after salutation of business letters 

C. Abbreviations 

Common ones needed in daily use 

D. Use of dictionary and reference books 

1. Arrangement in alphabetic order 

2. How to use an index 

E. Form and Arrangement 

1. Form of written composition as required at 
the end of the fourth year 

2. An outline with topics and subtopics 

3. The form of a friendly letter and a business 
letter 



PART THREE 

Lesson 1. The first four lessons in Part Three may be 
used by the teacher in measuring the abihty of the class in 
oral and written composition. Lesson 1 may be used to 
test the ^^ paragraph sense '^, using the exercise (page 230) in 
finding topic sentences and making an outline. 

The second part of the exercises may be used as a test of 
the pupils' ability in giving oral compositions. Discuss 
with them the meaning of philanthropist. Suggest the lives 
of Andrew Carnegie, Jane Addams, or others as subjects for 
talks. As the talks are given in class, note carefully for 
future use incorrect expressions, the use of ^^unnecessary 
words,'' pronunciation, posture, enunciation, etc. 

Lesson 2. Use these words for dictionary drill. Alpha- 
betize the list (including, if desired, other words from the 
selection in Lesson 1). Teach by the inductive method 
(see page 49 of the Manual) the more difficult words. Let 
the pupils look up the other words in the dictionary and 
write the sentences as suggested. 

Lesson 3. This lesson offers an opportunity to test written 
work and to teach the form to be used in written composi- 
tion throughout the year. Correct this written work care- 
fully, noting individual errors in sentences, paragraphing, 
punctuation, spelling, and legibility. 

Lesson 4. This first lesson on letter writing is a review of 
previous work in friendly letters. Note the form. The 
model letter may be dictated as a test before the lesson is 
taken up. The parts of the letter may be discussed one by 
one as the dictation exercise is being corrected. 

110 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 111 

Lesson 5. If additional drill is needed, use the game de- 
scribed in the Manual, page 57, or in the text, page 137. 

Lesson 6. In this yearns work the pupil studies technical 
grammar for the first time. The grammar for this year 
includes the parts of speech and the analysis of simple sen- 
tences by naming the two important parts, subject and 
predicate. Every effort should be made to show the connec- 
tion between grammar and correct usage and composition. 
Grammar should show the pupil the reasons why the correct 
form is correct, and should help him to discover the sentence 
thought by showing him the relation of words in the sentence. 

In teaching Lesson 6, obtain the material from the class. 
Let them give a list of names of persons or things. These 
will probably include both common and proper names. 
Proper names are already familiar to the class. The con- 
nection between proper names and proper nouns is easily 
made. Call attention to the rule for capitalizing a proper 
noun. 

Lesson 7. Most of the pupils have read some of Kipling's 
books. Talk with them informally about the stories they 
have read and the author. 

Read the poem ^^If and discuss its meaning by giving 
illustrations from the lives of famous men whom the class 
has read about. 

For example, after reading the first stanza say, ^^This stanza 
makes me think of George Washington. Can you tell why?" Call 
to mind the dark days of the Revolution when all men were doubting 
Washington. Recall the winter at Valley Forge ('^If you can wait 
and not be tired of waiting") and the Conway Cabal ("Or being 
lied about, don't deal in lies"). Show how Washington kept his 
head and did not give way to hating. 

The second stanza may recall the story of Cyrus Field and the 
laying of the Atlantic Cable and the three disasters before triumph 
came. Or the stanza may bring up the thought of Columbus, whose 



112 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

failure to find gold in the New World led to disaster, so that in his 
last days he was forced to ^^ watch the things he gave his life to, 
broken/' 

The third stanza with its stirring lines, ''If you can force your 
heart and nerve and sinew, to serve your turn long after they are 
gone,'' may suggest the brave life of Robert Louis Stevenson. 

The fourth stanza reminds one of Abraham Lincoln, who kept 
''the common touch," that is, did not lose his love and sympathy 
for the common people although he held the highest position in our 
land. Neither his bitterest foes — and no man ever had a greater 
number of them — nor his most loving friends could hurt him or 
make him turn aside from the path he thought was right. 

Some of the qualities that may be suggested for the 
exercise are coolness, self-reliance, patience, truthfulness, 
generosity, perseverance, courage, will-power, sympathy, 
industry. 

Lesson 8. Emphasize the importance of good beginning 
and ending sentences. Since this is the first lesson of the 
year on this subject, it may be well to give some practical 
help in making good beginning sentences for the exercise on 
page 240. 

For example, "Where I Used to Live." 

1. The house where I used to live was not half so pleasant as the 
one where I live to-day. 

2. The town where I used to live was the friendliest place you can 
imagine. 

3. I know that d^farm is the best place to live, for I used to live on 
one. 

4. How surprised our old neighbors would be if I should suddenly 
"drop in" at the house where I used to live. 

5. You would hardly believe that the new tenants could have 
changed our old home so much. 

The words in italics indicate the part of the topic sentence which 
is to be explained by the composition. 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 113 

Lesson 9. Use this exercise as a review of sentences. 

Lesson 10. For additional drill the teacher may select 
common nouns for which the pupils may supply proper 
nouns of the same class. For example, the teacher writes 
on the board the words boy, building, city, and the pupils 
suggest the words Charles, White House, Chicago. Other 
common nouns which may be used are: girl, man, woman, 
day, month, holiday, country, county, state, town, language, 
officer, minister, doctor, river, ocean. 

Lesson 11. No effort should be made to have the class 
distinguish between different kinds of verbs or to learn a 
definition of the verb, beyond the statement that the verb 
is needed in order to make a sentence. Make this fact evi- 
dent, by many examples, using at first two-word sentences: 
Horses trot. Dogs bark. Children play. Add other words 
gradually, showing that the verb is always necessary: The 
black horses trot swiftly. The cross dogs bark at us. The 
little children play in the street. Show that the verb is 
sometimes made up of more than one word: The horses 
are trotting swiftly. The cross dogs have barked at us. The 
little children have been playing in the street. 

Lesson 12. For drill use dictation exercise xvii on 
page 155. 

Lesson 13. Show how the directions given in the lesson 
emphasize good beginning and ending sentences. In judging 
the talks, these two sentences must be especially noted. 
The following titles may be helpful in narrowing the subject 
and in suggesting topics to the pupils: 

Caught in the Undertow Lost in the Woods 

The Time my Paddle Broke When I Caught an Eel 

Man Overboard! Fighting a Forest Fire 

Racing with a Trolley Car A Rainy Night in Camp 

Five Miles from a Garage My First Night in a Sleeping Car 



114 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 14. For suggestions see page 17 of the Manual. 

Lesson 15. For additional drill let the class find in their 
readers as many words as possible which are used instead 
of said. 

Lessons 16 and 17. Give several directions to pupils, 
using nouns in your sentences. For instance, 

George, give Helen George's book. 

George, take Helen's book instead of George's book. 

Helen, let George have George's book. 

Helen, tell Miss ^whether Helen has Helen's book or George's. 

Ask why the directions sound strange. Let the class tell how 
you might have spoken: 

George, give Helen your book. 

George, take her book instead of your book. 

Helen, let him have his book. 

Helen, tell me whether you have your book or his. 

Teach the definition of a pronoun, a word that is used in 
place of a noun. 

In taking up these lessons in the book, tell the class that 
pronouns are easy to recognize but sometimes difficult to 
use correctly. In this year pupils should learn to realize 
when errors are likely to occur and to be on the watch for 
them. Since mistakes in the use of pronouns and verbs con- 
stitute over eighty per cent of the common speech errors, 
pupils should learn to be on guard at these danger points. 

Drills in pronouns should include sentences such as the 
following, in which a form often misused is emphasized: 

1. The man has been kind to brother and . 

2. John sits between Henry and . 

3. Please send an invitation to sister and . 

4. Will come to see mother and ? 

5. Dorothy and are going to the party. 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 115 

6. It was who called on yesterday. 

7. Will telephone to Marjorie and , and tell about 

the meeting? 

8. Tom and are Boy Scouts. 

9. divided the apple among Harry, Frank, and . 

19. Between and , don^t think that boy is the one 

who stole the money? 

Lessons 18 and 19. Lesson 18 should be a lesson in para- 
graph development. Expand the topic selected into an 
interesting topic sentence. Expand the topic sentence into 
a paragraph. Use Lesson 19 as an exercise in class criticism 
of the paragraphs. Follow the suggestions given for Lesson 
61 of Part One, and Lesson 10 of Part Two, but remember 
that pupils in this grade can look for more things to criticize. 
With the assistance of the class, write on the board a list of 
points for which they will look. Include: 

Good beginning Good ending 

Keeping to the subject Posture 

Avoiding unnecessary words Voice 

Avoiding incorrect expressions Pronunciation 
Using interesting words 

Lessons 20, 21, 22. The class has had much drill in pre- 
vious years in identifying sentences. Begin Lesson 20 with 
an exercise in sentence identification. Use either Lessons 
30 or 54 in Part Two. Bring out the fact that a sentence 
expresses a complete thought. Show that two parts are 
necessary. From their study of verbs (Lesson 11), the 
pupils will probably notice the use of a verb in each predicate. 

Guard against the fatal error of calling the first word in 
the sentence the subject. Ask the question ^^ What is spoken 
of?'^ In considering interrogative sentences, it is helpful to 
change the sentence to a statement. Has the man gone? 
The man has gone. 

The class has already had considerable drill in selecting 



116 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

nouns. With this as a basis, Lesson 21 should be fairly 
simple. Always have the pupils first select the complete 
subject and then find the noun or pronoun which it contains 
as the simple subject. This will guard against the ever- 
present danger of selecting nouns which are objects instead 
of subjects. 

Follow the same lines in Lesson 22. Emphasize verbs 
which are made up of more than one word. Questions may 
be changed to statements to show the verb more plainly. 
Were the commands fulfilled? The commands were fulfilled. 

In analyzing sentences that present difficulties, it is often 
helpful to select the verb first of all. For example, in 
sentence 11, page 253, if a pupil is asked, ^^What is spoken 
of?" he will probably answer, 'Hhe hall." But if he selects 
the verb stood, and then answers the question ^^ Who stood?" 
he will see at once that the princess is the subject of the 
sentence. 

Give frequent practice in sentence making as well as in 
analyzing. Write on the board a list of subjects for which 
the class supplies the predicates, and vice versa. Suggest 
subjects for sentence making: ^^ Write on the board three 
sentences about the new pictures in the assembly hall," or 
''Write three sentences about Columbus," or ''Write two 
sentences telling why we need fresh air." 

Write separately the subjects and predicates of simple 
sentences on slips of paper. Distribute the slips to the class, 
so that half the class will have subjects and half predicates. 
Let them match up the subjects and predicates of the sen- 
tences as a sentence-building game. 

For additional drill in analyzing, use the first two groups 
of sentences on page 140 of the Manual. 

Lesson 23. Let some one in the class tell the story of the 
battles of Lexington and Concord. Read Paul Revere^ s 
Ride if the class is not too familiar with the poem. Before 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 117 

teaching the memory selection, read pages 31-36 of the 

Manual. 

Lesson 24. For additional drill review Lesson 90 of 
Part One. 

Lesson 25. Before taking up this dictation lesson, re- 
mind the class of the two uses of the apostrophe: with pos- 
sessives and with contractions. 

Lesson 26. For these letters may be substituted any of 
those suggested on pages 20-21 of the Manual. 

Lesson 27. Review the exercises used for Lessons 21-22, 
using both analysis and sentence making. 

Lesson 28. The only new points in this lesson are the new 
names of declarative, interrogative^ exclamatory, and impera- 
tive sentences for the familiar statements, questions, exclama- 
tions, and commands. For review use Lesson 9, page 240. 

Lesson 29. Suggest to the class some words which they 
can use correctly in place of the misused words: 



pleasant 


delightful 


charming 


enjoyable 


happy 


gay 


exciting 


interesting 


amusing 


attractive 


skillful 


excellent 



Use these words in sentences like the following: 

1. We had a most enjoyable time. 

2. He is a skillful player. 

3. We met a charming girl. 

4. It was a delightful visit. 

5. It was an exciting game. 

6. We had an amusing day. 

7. They have an attractive home. 



118 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 30. This interesting model letter needs no com- 
ment. For a written exercise assign one of the letters on 
page 120 of the Manual, if it is preferred. 

Lesson 31. Use for this exercise some of the words com- 
monly mispronounced by the class. 

Lesson 32. Additional exercises for drill in quotations 
may be found at the bottom of page 155 of the Manual. 
Work at the board is especially desirable. 

Lesson 33. The Better Enghsh Club affords an excellent 
opportunity to make pupils conscious of errors in their own 
speech and that of their classmates. 

Members are eligible for offices in the club if their every- 
day speech is free from errors. New officers may be elected 
each month from a list prepared by the class or by the 
teacher, containing the names of pupils whose speech has 
been noticeably correct. Any officer may be impeached at 
any time because of speech errors heard by club members. 
Ten errors must be presented against an officer before the 
club rules him out of office. This procedure of office-holding 
will help to bring about that much-desired goal, making 
correct English popular. 

Lesson 34. These paragraphs may first be written on the 
board without punctuation. Let the pupils supply periods 
and capitals. 

Lesson 35. Up to this time pupils have distinguished 
verbs only as the ^Hhought word'' in the sentence. Lesson 
35 teaches the complete definition of the verb and helps the 
pupil to make some distinction between the three main 
classes of verbs. 

In teaching the definition, explain the meaning of assert. 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 119 

Illustrate action words by numerous examples. Being may 
best be explained by calling attention to the familiar words 
(is, are, am, was, were, have been, had been) which express 
being or existence. It is not necessary for the class to know 
that all of these words are part of the same verb to be. State 
of being may be explained by examples of verbs that do not 
belong to the list of words that express being and do not 
express action. Instead, they exi[>ress feeling or state of being. 
Such words are: sleep, wake, ache, dream, worry, love, hate, 
wait, live. 

Use the exercise on page 267 for a review of declarative, 
interrogative, and exclamatory sentences as well as of verbs. 

Lesson 36. Use the game described on page 92 of the 
text for additional drill in using verbs correctly. 

Lesson 37. This lesson may be used as a lesson in out- 
lining. The cooperative outline may be made by the class, 
with the teacher writing the topics on the board. Suggest 
to the pupils that it is a good plan to make a similar outline 
for themselves before studying any lesson. 

This lesson is an important one, as it teaches a valuable 
study habit. The exercise should be taken up frequently, 
and practice in selecting topics in various subjects should be 
given. The pupils should see clearly that the EngHsh work 
has a vital relation to other subjects, that selecting topics 
and topic sentences and developing paragraphs which ex- 
plain them is the same procedure in other classes as in the 
English lesson. 

Lessons 38, 39, 40. These lessons should be used as an 
opportunity to inspire a genuine interest in books and a love 
for reading. Tell the pupils some of your own experiences 
with books; talk about books you Hke especially which you 
think they will like too; and recount interesting anecdotes 



120 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

about books or writers. Book reviews should be very simple. 
Be sure to emphasize this idea: every ''review'^ should be 
given with the purpose of persuading the rest of the class to 
read the book. 

Lesson 41. Review any other uses of pronouns needed by 
the class. See Lessons 16 and 17. 

Lesson 42. If the teacher desires, some of the letters sug- 
gested on pages 20-21 of the Manual may be substituted for 
this letter. 

Lesson 43. Up to this time the pupils have talked about 
nouns used to express one and more than one. The idea of 
number and the terms singular and plural are easily devel- 
oped. For drill use sentences that contain difficult plurals 
{ieSj ves, eys) and irregular forms. 

Lesson 44. Read carefully the section on Memory Selec- 
tions, Manual, page 31. Call particular attention to the 
lines that sound like the song of the bird. The lesson may 
be made the occasion for a talk on the protection of birds. 
(See suggestions for Lesson 6, Part Two.) 

Lesson 45. This lesson offers a chance for a bit of humor 
in speaking or for the kind of writing which the pupil can 
use to good advantage in letters. Suggest a few plans for 
the composition. Help the class by a model outline. 

For example, the girls might choose to give a talk based 
on this outline. 

A Busy Saturday 
I. What I planned to do 

A. Coloring Christmas cards 

B. Making fudge for the church fair 

C. Finishing my library book 

D. Taking the book back to the library 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 121 

II. What happened when my aunt left the baby with me 

A. Coloring cards with the baby as a helper 

B. Spoiling the fudge 

C. Playing with the baby instead of reading 

D. Wheeling the baby instead of going to the Ubrary 

A boy might give a talk based on this outline: 

A Busy Saturday 
I. What I planned to do 

A. Finishing my boat 

B. Launching the boat on the pond 

C. Going swimming with the boys 

II. What Father planned for me to do 

A. Weeding the garden 

B. Picking up shingles 

C. Meeting my uncle at the station 

Lesson 46. For additional drill give practice in sentence 
making with forms often misused: 

Make sentences using 

we boys between you and me 

us girls you and I 

for whom to whom 

from whom ' them and us 

you and she you and him 

Helen and I Jack and me 

Lesson 47. Read the section on Picture Study, page 28 
of the Manual. 

Correlate this lesson with the work in history. In prepa- 
ration for the lesson, let the pupils tell the story of the May- 
flower and the landing of the Pilgrims. Read or tell the class 
the story of Miles Standish, John Alden, and Priscilla. 

Discuss the feelings of the people in the picture as they 



122 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

see the Mayflower, their last link with their old home, sailing 
away, leaving them in a strange land. Let the pupils 
describe situations in which they have been homesick. 
Let them tell where they were and how they felt. 

Lesson 48. Read carefully pages 21-23 of the Manual, i 
In criticizing one another's letters, let the pupils act the 

part of a prospective employer. The writer of the best letter 

wins the position. 

Lesson 49. This lesson may be correlated with domestic 
science, manual training, and the pupils' activities outside 
of school. 

If the teacher wishes, the lesson may be made the basis 
of a project for which the pupils prepare an exhibit of 
'^Things Boys and Girls Can Make,'' to be shown to parents 
or another class. 

Let the pupils bring the articles to class. Each person 
should explain to the class how his contribution was made. 
The class will choose the clearest and best explanations to 
be given at the exhibit. Other pupils may draw diagrams 
or plans on the board. Others may arrange the articles for 
exhibition. 

Class criticism of the explanations may be conducted as 
follows: As each pupil talks, some one may note on the 
board his chief points. The class will then decide whether 
they could follow the directions given. Very often this 
checking of points will show that some important step has 
been omitted. 

Remind the pupils that an outhne is most important in 
giving an explanation. Each outline may contain these 
main topics: 

1. Material 
11. Processes 
III. Use of the Completed Article 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 123 

Lesson 50. For additional drill in identifying sentences 
use one of the dictation exercises on pages 149 and 150 or 
repeat the exercise in Lesson 54, Part Two. 

Lesson 51. The point to emphasize in divided quotations 
is that every word spoken by the speaker comes within 
the quotation marks. Let the test be: ^^Was that what the 
speaker said? '^ 

Drill should of course be written. Use one of the dicta- 
tion paragraphs on page 154 of the Manual. 

Lesson 52. Read carefully the suggestions for Lesson 48. 

Lesson 53. Give for drill sentences in which the verb and 
the subject are separated by several words. Mistakes are 
made in this type of sentence and in the use of you as sub- 
ject. A few sentences for drill follow: 

1. One of the boys going, {is, are) 

2. The flowers from that rosebush deep pink in color, (is, are) 

3. The boy, after being frightened by so many enemies, his 

friends, (know, knows.) 

4. The children with their mother gone away, {has, have) 

5. The mother bird with all her little ones flown away. 

{has, have) 

6. You not at home yesterday afternoon, {was, were) 

7. he want to see us? {donH, doesn't) 

8. One of the girls been waiting for me for an hour, {has, 

have) 

9. You not likely to meet him. {is, are) 

10. Mildred of all my friends the last to arrive, {was, were) 

Give special drill on you were and he doesnH, it doesnHj 
she doesnH, 

Lesson 54. Other words which might be suggested for 
this lesson are: athletics, oats, riches, trousers. 



124 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

The attention of the class may also be called to the follow- 
ing common words which look Hke plurals but always take 
singular verbs: news, measles, United States. 

Lesson 55. This is a very important lesson and should be 
used frequently as an exercise. Ask the pupils to bring 
newspapers to class. Help them to choose suitable articles 
by selecting several interesting ones from the papers they 
have brought. Teach them to look for items which 

L Are of interest to the whole class. 

2. Give really important facts. 

3. Seem to be truthful accounts. 

^^A Current Topic Day'' may be set aside each week, when 
ten minutes may be devoted to talks b}^ three or four pupils 
on newspaper articles. Teachers will find some of the small 
papers published for school use especially helpful. 

Lesson 56. In developing this lesson, put on the board 
simple sentences containing a noun, a verb, and one or 
more adjectives. 

The tall man shouted. 
The naughty boy cried. 
The pretty little girl laughed. 

Bring out the fact that the words in italics are part of the 
complete subject but are not nouns. Show that they de- 
scribe nouns. Teach the name adjective. 

Explain the meaning of modify by giving examples of 
adjectives which change or limit a noun. For example, when 
we see the word car, we get a mental picture of any car. 
Some of us may see a new car; some may think of a black 
car; some may think of a large car. But if we say ^^a big 
red car,'' our mental picture is changed and limited to one 
particular kind of car. 

Let the class change the mental picture called up by a 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 125 

noun by supplying adjectives to be used with it. For 
instance: 

What adjectives might be used to make car mean a car you would 
like to own? Make a list of adjectives that would change it to a car 
you would not want to own. 

Make a list of adjectives that might describe a boy you would 
like to know. Change them to describe a boy you would not care 
to know. 

Teach the definition of the adjective. For additional drill 
let the class make lists of adjectives from their readers. 

Lesson 57. Make a close connection between this lesson 
and the use of adjectives. The paragraph about Abraham 
Lincoln is especially rich in the use of these words. 

Lesson 58. For additional drill use the exercises suggested 
in the Manual for Lessons 16, 17, 41. 

Lesson 59. This lesson is particularly helpful in teaching 
pupils how to study. Use the exercise frequently with 
geography, history, or hygiene texts. For the paragraphs 
selected, prepare questions similar to those on page 290. 

On the board outline the paragraph on '^How to Get Rid 
of Mosquitoes.'' The outline may read: 

How TO Get Rid of Mosquitoes 

A. Keeping the insects out of the house by screening 

B. Preventing the insects from breeding 

1. By draining marshlands 

2. By cleaning streams 

3. By emptying things that collect water 

C. Killing the larvae 

1. By spraying oil on pools 

2. By putting fish into ponds 



126 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Use the outline in reproducing the paragraph. Compare 
the new paragraph with the original one. 

Lesson 60. This lesson reviews direct and indirect quo- 
tations. Use for additional drill dictation exercise xviii on 
page 155. 

Lesson 61. This exercise reviews Lesson 53. Use the sen- 
tences suggested for drill on that lesson. See Manual, 
page 123. 

For special drill on donH and doesnHj use a rapid drill 
with questions like those which follow. These should be 
answered rapidly by the pupils. Remember that doesuH 
is the form for drill. Be sure to ask questions that require 
negative answers. 

1. Does Albert sit next to you? 

No, Albert doesn^t sit next to me. 

2. Does Mary wear a red ribbon? 

3. Does Tom bring his lunch to school? 

4. Does the principal like to have us make a noise in the hall? 

5. Does your mother like to have you tear your clothes? 

6. Does your father like to have your report card show low marks? 

7. Does your mother want you to be late to school? 

Lesson 62. 1. The common mistake in the verbs let and 
leave is the use of leave for let in such sentences as ^^ Leave 
me go.'^ ^^My mother won't leave me go.'' Drill on the use 
of let by a simple, rapid drill in which one pupil asks another 
for permission to do something. ^^Will you let me sharpen 
my pencil?" ^^Yes, I will let you sharpen your pencil." 
This exercise may be made into a game called ^^Will you 
let me?" One pupil asks ^^Will you let me do this?" He 
acts out something which he wants to do: sharpening a 
pencil, borrowing a book, painting a picture, filling the ink 
wells, etc. The rest of the class tries to guess what he wants 
to do by saying, '^Yes, I will let you ." 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 127 

Watch for the incorrect pronunciation of let me (lemme). 

2. The word lend offers an opportunity to make a practical 
appHcation of grammar to corrective work. A common 
mistake is the incorrect use of lend in such sentences as 
^'May I have the lend of a dime?^^ The pupils have learned 
to distinguish nouns and verbs. Show them that this sen- 
tence is wrong, because lend is always sl verb. 

To distinguish between borrow and lend, let pupils borrow 
various things from each other, using such sentences as 
^^May I borrow your pencil?^' ^^You may borrow my pen- 
cil.'^ Let the pupils go through the necessary action so 
that they see clearly who does the ^^ borrowing" in each case. 

Ask the question in another form: ^^Will you lend me 
your pencil?'' ^^I will lend you my pencil.'' 

Write the two questions on the board. Show that / is 
the subject of borrow j and you is the subject of lend. Thus, 
once more granmiar has a practical application to correct 
usage. 

Lessons 63 and 64. These lessons are fully developed in 
the text. If the class needs extra drill, review the outline 
in Lesson 22, Part Two, or outline the paragraphs on pages 
148-153 of the Manual. 

Lesson 65. Be sure that the pupils understand that it is 
often necessary to know the antecedent of a pronoun in 
order to use the correct form of the verb. 

The man who was working has gone home. 
The men who were working have gone home. 

Bear in mind the fact that personal pronouns as well as rela- 
tives have antecedents. Teach the class to look for the 
antecedent of a pronoun in a sentence that is not clear. 

Lesson 66. Review the correct form of a business letter 
before writing the exercise. 



128 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 67. Teach the definition of synonyms by using 
numerous common illustrations, such as the words suggested 
for Lesson 69, Part One. Discuss the true meanings of the 
words nice, great, and lovely. Use the dictionary as much as 
possible throughout this lesson. 

For additional drill let the class find synonyms for the 
italicized words in the following paragraphs: 

It is a winter's day when we take our peep into the schoolroom. 
See what great logs of wood have been rolled into the fireplace, and 
what a broad, bright blaze goes leaping up the chimney. Every 
few minutes a vast cloud of smoke is puffed into the room, which 
sails slowly over the heads of the scholars until it gradually settles 
upon the walls and ceiling. They are blackened with the smoke of 
many years already. 

Do you see the venerable schoolmaster, severe in aspect, with a 
black skull cap on his head like an ancient Puritan? What boy 
would dare to play, to whisper, or even glance aside from his book 
while Master Cheever is on the lookout behind his spectacles? For 
such offenders, a rod of birch is hanging over the fireplace and a 
heavy ferule lies on the desk. 

Lesson 68. Supply other words for pronunciation drill 
from Lessons 50, 67, and 79, Part Two. 

Lesson 69. Correlate the lesson with work in history. Let 
the pupils tell about the adoption of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence on July 4th, 1776. (The Declaration was not signed 
until August 2, 1776.) The committee appointed to draw up 
the Declaration were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben- 
jamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingstone. 
These are the five men standing in front of the table. John 
Hancock, the president of the Second Continental Congress, 
is seated at the table. 

Oral compositions should be given on the following 
subjects: 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 129 

The Liberty Bell Thomas Jefferson 

Benjamin Franklin Independence Hall 

Lessons 70-72. If a school paper seems to require too much 
time and effort, one of the following devices may be sub- 
stituted : 

1. A weekly class Bulletin Board has been used successfully in 
many schools. The Board itself may be a large section of the 
blackboard reserved for the purpose every Friday, or a board of 
soft wood to which pictures and compositions may be attached 
with thumb tacks. Such a Bulletin Board can probably be made 
by the manual training class. A committee of pupils is put in charge 
each week to see that contributions are placed on the board. 

Contributions should include short articles of interest, composi- 
tions of special merit, a column of class personal items, drawings 
and pictures of special interest. The committee may make a list 
of those from whom they will expect contributions, or they may 
select the best of the papers handed to them. The latter course 
gives an element of competition which makes the enterprise more 
interesting. Every pupil in the class should be required to furnish 
at least one acceptable article during the term. 

2. A Class Magazine may be provided in the form of a large 
scrap book in which the week's articles may be posted by the com- 
mittee. Each number of the magazine will comprise three or four 
pages, and the whole book will resemble the bound copies of maga- 
zines which the class will find in the library. 

The class should be urged to examine real magazines and 
newspapers in arranging the articles and in writing contri- 
butions. It will be helpful to suggest from week to week a 
list of possible subjects for articles of local interest. Such a 
list may include 

School events, games, and entertainments 

Accounts of social events 

Descriptions of new buildings 

Descriptions of good moving pictures exhibited 



130 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Accounts of fires, accidents, runaways, etc. 

Reports of club meetings 

Plans for improving the school grounds 

It should be remembered that the unintentionally amus- 
ing items in small-town or country papers describing social 
events at which ^^ a pleasant time was had by air^ are usually 
written by townspeople, who get free subscriptions to the 
paper in return for these news items. Now is the time to 
teach boys and girls to write about the events of their every- 
day lives in a simple and interesting manner. 

Lesson 71. In preparing the play, read the story care- 
fully to discover how each speaker felt. 

The king's first speech, for instance, must show that he is weary 
and depressed. Let several pupils try to give the speech as the 
king might say it. How will he act? Will he sit down or stand up? 

How will the report of the gun affect him? If he is seated, what 
will he probably do? What will he do with his own gun when the 
man appears? How do the two men speak to each other? Which 
one is angry? When does the king begin to grow a little irritated? 

Supply the conversation in the paragraph beginning ^^The man 
at once demanded to know the king's name and business. '' Dis- 
cuss the action of each character. 

How does the king feel when the courtier rushes in? How does 
the Miller feel? How can his feelings be shown in his words? Let 
several pupils try to show how he says, ''Are you the King?" 

What does the king probably do with the sword? (Describe the 
process of "dubbing a knight.") 

Let each pupil write his own version of the play. Let the 
class criticize the plays and choose the best one or make a 
composite play from the parts they like best. The drama- 
tization in its final form may be given before another class. 

Lesson 73. Begin this lesson by writing on tbiQ board, 
simple sentences such as 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 131 

The little boy walked slowly. 
The old man worked swiftly. 
The naughty child cried loudly. 
The bright sun shone yesterday, 
1 am coming soon. 
The girl arrived late. 
The poor woman met me there. 
I will go away, 
1 see him here. 

The pupils will be able to name the part of speech of every 
word in the sentences with the exception of the adverbs. 
Bring out the fact that these words modify verbs; that is, 
slowly J swiftly, and loudly tell something about walked, 
worked, and cried in much the same way that little, old, and 
naughty tell something about hoy, man, and child. Let the 
pupils discover that the adverbs in these sentences tell how 
the boy walked, and how the man worked, etc. 

Bring out the fact that adverbs also tell when and where, 
by using sentences 4-9 above and the sentences in the text. 

Use the following sentences for additional help in showing 
that adverbs modify adjectives and adverbs: 

The poor girl looked extremely tired. 

The laughing child seemed very happy. 

I am rather weary. 

Have I come too soon? 

The pretty girl behaved rather queerly. 

I cannot wait so long. 

For additional drill in adverbs let the class make up sen- 
tences using the following common adverbs: 



soon 


noisily 


happily 


too 


gently 


angrily 


rather 


brightly 


softly 


very 


yesterday 


immediately 


quite 


recently 


there 



a teacher 


an engineer 


a stenographer 


a doctor 


a sailor 


a lawyer 


a carpenter 


a cook 


a farmer 


an importer 


a tailor 


an artist 



132 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lesson 74. Before the composition is written, discuss the 
subject of occupations with the class informally. Let several 
pupils tell what they want to do and why. 

Make a list of occupations suggested by the pupils. Tell 
them to think of some of the pleasant things and some of the 
difficulties about each occupation. Here is a suggested list: 

a conductor 
a fireman 
a policeman 
a nurse 
a fruit-grower 
a druggist 

Have an informal debate on the advantages of two occu- 
pations. For example: 

Would you rather be a teacher or a nurse? 
Would you rather be an engineer or a doctor? 
Would you rather be a carpenter or a policeman? 

Lesson 75. For additional drill, let the pupils select the 
adverbs in paragraph xviii on page 155 of the Manual. 

Lesson 76. Before prepositions are taught, review the 
parts of speech already learned. 

Write on the board the three short sentences illustrating 
prepositions (page 310). The pupils can name the part of 
speech for each word except the prepositions. Ask for the 
subject and predicate of each sentence. Show that the groups 
of words into the hollow tree, in the cahin, and over the trestle 
are parts of the predicate. From their recent study of ad- 
verbs, pupils will readily see that these phrases tell where 
and modify the verb. Teach the name of the word which 
introduces the phrase. 

At this point take up the lesson in the book. Let the class 
read the lesson rapidly as far as the paragraph beginning 
^^The preposition does more than introduce.^' Illustrate 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 133 

this paragraph by the sentences already studied. Study 
also the following sentences, in order that the class may not 
gain the idea that phrases modify only verbs. 

1. The mother of the child came to the door. 

2. The lights of the town could be seen plainly. 

3. All the books hy that author are interesting. 

4. They live in a house with a red roof. 

For additional drill give a list of common prepositions 
and have pupils use them in making original sentences: 



for 


at 


into 


beside 


by 


to 


of 


from 


with 


in 


towards 


over 



Watch for incorrect expressions. The correct use of prep- 
ositions is one of the most difficult idioms for foreign-bom 
children to manage. If the class contains many children of 
foreign parentage, it will be well to give careful drill in the 
use of prepositions. Sentences for such drill will be found 
on pages 136-137 of the Manual. 

Lesson 77. This lesson is developed from Lesson 76, and 
sufficient work is given in the text. Call special attention 
to the fact that the use of phrases for adjectives and adverbs 
makes variety of expression possible. It is always an advan- 
tage to have more than one way to say a thing. 

Lesson 78. Let the pupils bring to class or to a club meet- 
ing lists of words they have heard mispronounced or words 
which they wish to learn to pronounce. 

Lesson 79. In the study of this speech, recall the events 
immediately preceding April, 1917. Talk with the class 
about the results of the speech. Show pictures of the Capi- 
tol and the Hall of Representatives, where the speech was 
made. Read the speech aloud to the class. Explain any 



134 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

difficult words. Let the class look up other words in their 
dictionaries. Answer the questions in Section 3 of the exer- 
cise. Let several pupils read the speech aloud. 

Lesson 80. Before the pupils describe the picture, talk 
with them about Robert E. Lee and his home. Some of 
these facts may prove of value: 

Robert E. Lee was the son of General Henry Lee (Light-horse 
Harry). Two years after he left West Point, he married Mary 
Custis, the only child of Washington's adopted son. They lived 
in her beautiful home at Arlington, Virginia, only a few miles from 
Washington's old home at Mount Vernon. 

Just across the broad Potomac River is the city of Washington. 
The house stands on the brow of a hill. In front, gardens and 
terraces slope toward the river. From the wide veranda can be seen 
a wonderful view of the blue Potomac and the white government 
buildings at Washington. The house is built of yellow brick. The 
great pillars are painted white. 

The mansion is now used as a museum. The great hall and the 
large square rooms opening from it are filled with relics of the 
Lee and Custis families and many interesting memorials of Civil 
War days. Behind the house are the one-story buildings used in 
the old days as the kitchen and the servants' quarters. 

Near by is the Arlington National Cemetery, where so many 
brave soldiers who fought in the Civil War are buried. There, 
too, is the mast of the battleship Maine, to remind one of the 
soldiers of the war of 1898 who are buried in the cemetery. And 
there on November 11, 1921, was buried the Unknown Soldier, to 
lie beside his comrades who gave their lives for their country in 
the World War. Arlington may well be called 'Hhe home of many 
soldiers." 

Lesson 81. This lesson makes a practical application of 
the pupirs knowledge of grammatical principles. Those 
may be either a pronoun or an adjective. Them is always a 
pronoun. Pronouns do not modify nouns, except in the 
possessive forms; therefore, we may say ''Those are the 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 135 

books I want/^ or ^^ Those books are the ones I want/' but 
never ^^Them books are the ones I want.'' 

The habit of using those and them correctly has probably 
been established by the previous lessons and by drill on these 
words. The chief aim of this lesson should be to show the 
child how a knowledge of grammar can be of real service to 
him in distinguishing the correct from the incorrect form. 

Lesson 82. See the section on Letter Writing, page 17 
of the Manual. 

Lesson 83. Pupils will be most Hkely to use post-ofhce 
money orders in sending money by mail. Bring to class a 
money order blank and show the pupils how to fill it out. 
Explain the use of the money order, and the purpose of the 
receipt. 

Lesson 84. For drill use the abbreviation game suggested 
on page 179 of the text. 

Lesson 85. Read pages 31-36 of the Manual. 

Lesson 86. This lesson is fully developed in the text. 
For additional drill use the following exercises: 

I. Combine the thoughts in each of the following groups of 
sentences into a sentence using a conjunction: 

1. Tom is going fishing. 
Joe is going fishing. 

(Tom and Joe are going fishing.) 

2. I like bread. 
I like jam. 

(I like bread and jam.) 

3. I wash my face in the morning. 

I brush my teeth in the morning. 

4. My father is coming home to-night. 
My mother is coming home to-night. 

5. I have looked for my cap in the hall. 

I have looked for my cap in the dming room. 



136 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

6. Susan may go with you. 
Doris may go with you. 

7. John is going to give a speech to-morrow. 
Helen is going to sing. 

8. He will be here in an hour. 
His sister cannot come. 

II. Give a list of words commonly used as conjunctions and have 
the pupils use them in sentence building. This exercise is more 
useful than selecting conjunctions from reading material, because 
pupils are likely to select relative adverbs and pronouns for con- 
junctions. It is well to know that the following words are nearly 
always conjunctions: 



but 


if 


as 


for 


unless 


until 


although 


because 


though 


than 


so that 


since 



Lesson 87. Since prepositions offer many difficulties, 
especially to children of foreign parentage, it may be well 
to use some of the following sentences for drill. Write the 
correct forms on the board. Let them remain there for sev- 
eral days and have the pupils practice them orally. As a 
test, use the exercises in filling blanks. 

to 

He spoke to me sharply. 
We went to a party. 
Come to the store. 
He agreed to our plan. 
Shall we go to the park? 

at 

He laughed at me. 
She is not at school. 
He lives at our house. 
I was at the meeting. 
Stay at the end of the line. 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 137 

mth 

May I go with you? 
What is the matter with him? 
He is going home with me. 
He left his watch with me. 
Will you change places with me? 

from 

I got the book from the teacher. 
His story was different from mine. 
I learned my poem from our reader. 
He took my pencil from me. 
We bought the house from the owner. 

by 

Send the letter by a messenger. 

He was hurt by a runaway horse. 

Did you go by the park on your way home? 

Come to see us, by all means. 

An island is surrounded by water. 

Supply one of these prepositions: to, at, with, by, from, 

1. The old man lived his daughter. 

2. The picture was painted a famous artist. 

3. Were you my house this morning? 

4. I had to go your house on my way the store. 

5. What is the matter you? 

6. I was visiting their house. 

7. Isn't his cap different yours? 

8. Won't you come my party? 

9. I borrowed a dime Fred. 

10. My brother is employed Mr. Thomas. 

11. We shall be the next town noon. 

12. I gave the letter my father. 

13. Will you go the park me? 

14. I took the book his desk. 

15. I came my old home to live my uncle. 



138 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Lessons 88 and 89. The story may be studied as suggested 
in the text. Additional material for use in the class talk may 
be found in the following books: 

Foster and Cummings, Asgard Stories 
Mabie, Norse Stories 

Lesson 90. Interjections present no difficulties, as they 
are not frequently used. The lesson may be used as an 
opportunity to review the parts of speech. 

Lesson 91. This lesson may be a preliminary step in the 
preparation of the Flag Day Program described in Lesson 
103. The visitor may be asked to speak on this occasion. 

Lesson 92. Read carefully the section on Picture Study 
page 28 of the Manual. Discuss the picture with the 
class, first reading page 33 L Note the center of interest, 
the praying figures, the background, and the lighting. 
Notice the peasants ' costumes and the tools they are using. 

A talk about the life of the artist will add interest to the 
picture. These facts may be used: 

Jean Frangois Millet was born in 1814 and died in 1875. He 
worked as a farm laborer until a painter, recognizing his talent, per- 
suaded the town to grant him a yearly income so that he could study 
art. The young man went to Paris to study, and there he painted 
several pictures. Later he fought in a war against Germany. 
After that, he moved to the country, where he lived the simple 
life of the peasants around him. He spent the rest of his life 
painting. After his death his pictures were sold for large sums, 
but the poor artist struggled all his life against poverty. 

In describing the picture, the class may use this outline: 

1. The title of the picture and the name of the artist 

2. The foreground 

a. The peasants 

b. Their costumes 

c. Their tools 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 139 

3. The background 

a. The Hghting (sunset) 
6. The church 

Lesson 93. This is a review lesson in the correct use of 
verbs. 

Lesson 94. Apply to this lesson the principles discussed 
during the year. Class criticism should note: 

1. Good beginning 

2. Keeping to the subject 

3. Using words effectively 

4. Avoiding speech errors 

5. Good ending 

Lesson 95. Each pupil should have a small dictionary 
and should be taught to use it rapidly and accurately. He 
should also learn to use the larger volume for reference. 
Give frequent drills in finding words in the dictionary. Use 
the alphabet rhyme 

A to E 

F to P 

Q to Z 

to divide the dictionary into three parts. Placing a word in 
one of these three divisions will help us to find it quickly. 
For the first few times slips of paper may be placed after the 
words beginning with E and P. 

Write a list of ten words on the board. Let each person 
stand as soon as he finds all the words. (The number of the 
dictionary page where the word occurs must be noted, to 
make sure every one ^ Splays fair.'') The row in which al] 
the members are standing first wins the game. 

For dictionary work, use some of the words given for 
pronunciation drills on pages 89, 110, 207, 263, and 313. 

Give the class some idea of the interesting things to be 
found in the dictionary. Discuss the possibilities of its use 



140 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

in learning spelling, syllabication, pronunciation, defini- 
tions, synonyms. Tell the pupils something about deriva- 
tions and word history. Use some of these words: 



dandelion 


daisy 


linoleum 


assassin 


holiday 


candidate 


breakfast 


knave 


atlas 


Wednesday 


pen 


mackintosh 


copper 


alphabet 


macadam 


volcano 


curfew 


sincere 



Lesson 96. For additional drill in analyzing sentences 
the following groups are given. The sentences are arranged 
in groups, each group emphasizing the principle indicated. 

Subjects and predicates 

1. King Charles of Sweden was famous for his courage. 

2. One day he was in the midst of a great battle. 

3. He had taken refuge in a small house. 

4. His place of shelter lay between the two armies. 

5. An officer was writing an order for the king. 

6. Suddenly a bomb came through the roof. 

7. There it lay on the floor beside them. 

8. The officer dropped his pen. 

9. He was pale with fear. 

10. The king went on with his order. 
IL What has the bomb to do with you? 

12. Isn^t your country in danger? 

13. You should forget your own safety. 

Subjects and predicates 

1. In Persia there lived a little prince. 

2. His name was Cyrus. 

3. He was not petted and spoiled like many other princes. 

4. Cyrus was brought up like the son of a common man. 

5. He went for a visit to his grandfather. 

6. His grandfather planned a great feast for the lad. 

7. The tables were loaded with all kinds of food. 



LESSON HELPS: PART THREE 141 

8. There were music and dancing. 

9. Cyrus had been told to invite his friends. 

10. The hour for the feast came. 

11. Where were the guests? 

12. Cyrus had not invited any one. 

13. His friends did not need the food. 

14. The young prince divided the feast among the servants and 

poor people. 

Inverted order, compound subjects and predicates 

1. Out of the quiet blue sky there shot the great war eagle. 

2. Beside the clear, brown stream an old beaver was busily 

chopping wood. 

3. She heard the whir of descending wings and vanished in the 

midst of the shining pool. 

4. The eagle perched suddenly on a dead tree and kept his eyes 

on the smooth sheet of water. 

5. After a time there appeared a sleek, brown head. 

6. The eagle spoke to her and complained bitterly of hunger. 

7. What did the industrious old beaver tell him? 

8. My companions and I are doing useful work. 

9. You and your fellow warriors do nothing useful. 

10. The eagle waited all the morning and then went away hungry. 

Adjectives and adverbs 

1. The tadpole wriggled impatiently and then lay still. 

2. The Hzard was a busy little thing, always anxious about 

something. 

3. She saw the tadpole in a sunny shallow. 

4. Presently he turned his dull eyes on the friendly lizard. 

5. The hzard settled down more comfortably. 

6. The shy little tadpole begged a favor piteously. 

7. Hastily the obliging lizard got a small piece of eel grass and 

measured his tail. 

8. Then they sat still and stared dismally at each other. 

9. His long graceful tail had almost disappeared. 

10. The timid httle tadpole was rapidly becoming a large and 
important frog. 



142 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

Prepositions and phrases 

1. The brook flows past the field, around the hill, and through 

the wood. 

2. We find Indians at the railroad stations in many parts of the 

West. 

3. Very few Indians wear feathers in their hair in times of peace. 

4. Some of the women carry curious bundles on their backs. 

5. All the Indians are by no means alike. 

6. Some tribes communicate with other tribes by signs. 

7. There is also a great difference in the customs of the tribes. 

8. Most of the Indians now reside on western reservations and 

engage in farming and stock raising. 

9. In 1914 the government estimated the value of their pos- 

sessions at nine hundred million dollars. 
10. Men on horseback were riding in haste towards the battle- 
field. 

Lesson 97. Test the oral compositions prepared for this 
lesson by the standards for the sixth grade. (See page 143 
of the Manual.) 

Lesson 98. Review at this time any punctuation needed 
by the class. 

Lesson 99. Review any corrective English necessary. 

Lesson 100. The dramatization of a historical scene may 
be made at this time and used for the Flag Day Program in 
Lesson 103. 

Lessons 101-103. In preparing the Flag Day Program, 
read the section on projects in the Manual, page 12. 



SIXTH YEAR STANDARDS 

I. Oral Composition 

The ability to give a brief oral composition con- 
sisting of six or seven well-constructed sentences 
on a familiar topic. The pupil should be able to face 
. the class and to speak audibly, distinctly, and with 
correct pronunciation, avoiding the superfluous use 
of andj sOj and then. Oral paragraphs should follow 
a carefully prepared outline and should show a defi- 
nite beginning, middle, and end. 

Standards of Oral Composition ^ 

The compositions are to be used by the teachers in grad- 
ing oral work. They are not intended to be used as models. 

Fair 

A Mistake 

One morning my mother asked me to put sugar in the coffee. I 
went to the pantry for the sugar and instead of getting sugar I 
got salt. My father was the first to drink his. He made an awful 
face and scolded me. Now I always make sure whether it is sugar 
or salt. 

This is an advance over the Fair composition of the fifth 
grade because of the smoothness and variety of sentences. 
The generalization in the last sentence is a step ahead. 
There is an attempt to give a picture, which is not made in 

1 These standards are taken from English for Elementary Schools, pub- 
lished by the Board of Education of the City of Chicago. 

143 



144 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

the earlier grades. It is only Fair because there is no sus- 
pense or surprise although the situation held these elements. 

Good 

Burnt and Stung 

Near an old com crib stood a box which was filled with corn cobs. 
Bees had made their home therp. My uncle lit a fire around the box. 
Pretty soon the bees began to make a great humming noise. It was 
quite dark when I ventured out to see the box. I was barefoot. 
I kicked the box, when all of a sudden I felt two sharp pains. The 
first was a sting, the second was a burn, for the moment I kicked 
the box I put my foot down on a piece of burnt charcoal. 

The incident is told in clear pictures. The vocabulary is 
more mature than in the Good composition of grade five. 
An Excellent composition would contain still more mature 
sentence forms. 

Excellent 

My Most Embarrassing Moment 

On my father's two weeks' stay in Denver, Colorado, I was very 
lonesome, and waited patiently for him. About eight days after 
he left, I saw a man get off the car. He was holding two valises 
like my father's. I ran to meet him. 

Before I knew what happened, I was hugging him and saying, 
"Oh, papa, I'm so glad you came home." I was going to kiss him, 
when I saw it was the man who lived next door. I became very 
red and began to tremble. I never had such a feeling before; but 
I begged his pardon, and ran away. I was very glad that I looked 
at him before I kissed him. 

This composition has all of the elements of the Good com- 
position for this grade, plus an expression of emotion, and an 
effective closing sentence. Note the defective subordination 
in the second sentence in the second paragraph. The title 
is commendable in this composition. 



SIXTH YEAR STANDARDS 145 

Superior 

Kidnappers ! Help ! 

My sister was lost ! I remember that my mother told me to take 
care of her. I dashed through the hall and up the back stairs. My 
mother came out screaming and said, ''What is the matter?'^ I 
cried, ''Lillian is lost!^' At this she flung on her coat and rushed 
down after me. Soon the whole neighborhood was awakened. I 
was just passing the basement door, when my sister popped her 
head out. I felt like shaking her to pieces for making all that 
disturbance. 

The feeling of consternation, relief, and disgust at the 
cause of it all is very well conveyed. The choice of words is 
unusually apt. '^ Dashed, ^^ "flung on her coat,^^ and "rushed 
after me^' keep the movement rapid. "Popped her head 
out'' is just right. Although no reference is made to the 
title, the whole composition justifies its choice. 

II. Written Composition 

A. The abihty to write a short original composi- 
tion of two or more paragraphs with correct sentence 
and paragraph division. The composition should 
follow a definite outline and exhibit the qualities of 
a good paragraph. Pupils should be able to select the 
topic sentence in a paragraph or to expand a topic 
into a paragraph. 

B. The ability to write simple and correct business 
and friendly letters. 

III. Correct Usage 

The habit of using correct English in everyday 
activities. Errors should be corrected as needed by 
the class. By the end of the sixth year, no pupil 
should habitually make any gross errors, such as 
those listed for correction in the preceding years. 



146 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

IV. Technicalities 

A. Capitals 

All uses learned during previous years 

B. Punctuation 

L All uses learned during previous years 
2. Quotation marks with the broken quo- 
tation 

C. Abbreviations 

Common abbreviations needed by the class 

D. Use of Dictionary and Reference Books 

1. Alphabetic order 

2. The use of guide words 

3. The use of diacritical key 

4. The use of an index 
E. Form and Arrangement 

1. Correct form of written composition 

2. Correct form of business and friendly 
letters 

3. Outlines with topics and subtopics 



DICTATION EXERCISES 

Dictation exercises may be given at intervals as a means 
of testing the pupils^ power to use technicalities which have 
been studied. Short paragraphs are better for dictation than 
disconnected sentences. They are more interesting and give 
unconscious training in paragraph form and structure. 

Dictation exercises may be conducted in various ways. It 
is a good plan to have two or three pupils work at the board. 
One of the exercises on the board may then be corrected 
by the class and used as a basis for correcting papers. Pupils 
should be told that the writing of the dictation exercise is a 
test of their ability. Interest may be added if the class is 
divided into two teams, and the average score for each team 
carefully kept. The class will enjoy the element of competi- 
tion involved. 

Care should be taken that dictation exercises should not 
be too difficult, and that they should give exactly the drill 
which the class requires. The exercises given below supply 
drill on the points suggested and may be used after the lesson 
indicated. 

I 

In some parts of the world the sea water is warm all the 
the year round. Here wonderful little animals have their 
home. Many of these little creatures are very beautiful. 
They make the pretty red coral which you have seen. 

They also make coral islands, on which many people live. 
Is it not wonderful that these small creatures can build great 
islands? It takes many little animals long years to form an 
island. 

To he used in Part One^ Lessons 3, 6, 7, and 52, and else-- 
where as needed. 

147 



148 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

II 

George Washington was the first President of the United 
States. When he was a boy in Virginia, he wanted to be a 
sailor. His older brother Lawrence secured a place for him 
on a ship that was about to sail for England. George was 
eager to start. He longed to see the strange countries in 
Europe. He planned to visit London and Paris and Rome. 
At last the day of sailing came. George kissed his mother 
good-by. Then he noticed the tears in her eyes. He knew 
how lonely she would be without him. He asked Tom, his 
servant, to run quickly to the ship and tell the captain not to 
wait. He had decided not to go to sea. 

To he used in Part One, Lessons 11 and 12, and elsewhere 
as needed. 

Ill 

312 West First Street 
Elmira, New York 
January 24, 1923 
Dear Father, 

Did you know that I had been promoted in the middle 
of the year? I am so glad, because now I am in the same 
class with Dorothy and Helen. We walk to school together 
every day. Now we can study the same lessons. Won't it 
be fun? 

When are you coming home? I have learned two new 
songs to sing for you. 

Your loving daughter 
Barbara 
To be used in Part One, Lesson 25, 

IV 

Once upon a time in Greece there lived two famous 
painters. A dispute arose as to which of them could paint 
a picture more true to life. 



DICTATION EXERCISES 149 

The first painted a picture of some fruit that was so nat- 
ural that the birds flew down and pecked at it. This made 
him very proud. He boasted of his skill. 

The second painted a beautiful picture which seemed to 
be covered with a curtain. When the other artist tried to 
draw the curtain aside, he found that he could not move it. 
The curtain was the picture. 

The second artist won the prize. The first had deceived 
only the birds. The second had deceived another artist. 

To he used in Part Onej Lesson 52 j in Part Two^ Lesson 22^ 
in Part Threej Lessons 50 and 63, and elsewhere as needed. 



O velvet bee, you^re a dusty fellow, 
YouVe powdered your legs with gold! 

O brave marshmary buds, rich and yellow, 
Give me your money to hold. 

Columbine, open your folded wrapper 
Where two twin turtle-doves dwell! 

O cuckoo-pint, toll me the purple clapper 
That hangs in your clear green bell. 

To be used in Part One, Lesson 90. 

VI 

A Roman Hero 

Once upon a time in the city of Rome a great hole sud- 
denly appeared in the market place. The oracle said that 
the chasm would never close until the people threw into it 
the most precious thing in the city. 

Every one crowded to the market place, eager to help. 
Men threw in gold and silver. Women gave their choicest 
jewels. Scholars brought their most valuable books. Still 
the hole yawned as wide and deep and black as ever. 



150 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

At last a young man named Marcus Curtius appeared, 
mounted on his horse. ^^The most precious thing in the 
city is a man^s Ufe/' he shouted, as he leaped into the dark 
gulf. Immediately the rocks crashed together and the hole 
was closed. 

To he used in Part Two, Lessons 5 and 22, in Part Three, 
Lesson 63, and elsewhere as needed. 

VII 

The Story of the Thistle 

The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. It is not 
a pretty flower, but the people love it. They tell this story 
of how their emblem was chosen. 

Many years ago a large army marched by night to a 
Scottish town. They expected to surprise the sleeping 
people and capture the town. Just as they reached the 
city, a barefooted soldier stepped on a thistle. It hurt him 
so much that he cried aloud in pain. The soldiers inside the 
town heard his cry. They rushed out and drove the enemy 
away. The thistle had saved the city. 

To be used in Part Two, Lesson 5, in Part Three, Les- 
son 50, and elsewhere as needed. 

VIII 

Fighting the Indians 

When white men first came to make their homes in Amer- 
ica, there were constant wars with the Indians. The red 
men would make their way to a village and kill all the people 
they could. There was no time for the white men to protect 
their homes. 

At last the white people made a plan for their safety. 
Whenever one of their settlements was attacked by the 
Indians, the first settler to see the enemy fired his gun three 



DICTATION EXERCISES 151 

times. There were other settlers near by who heard the 
sounds. These men seized their guns, fired the same signal, 
and ran towards the enemy. Those who heard their shots 
did the same. Soon there were little bands of men coming 
from every direction. In this way the white men were able 
to defend their village. 

To he used in Part Two, Lessons 5 and 37, amd Part Three, 
Lesson 50, and elsewhere as needed, 

IX 

Atalanta^s Race 

Many years ago in the land of Greece hved a maiden 
named Atalanta. She was so beautiful that every youth in 
the land wanted to marry her, but she declared that she 
would never marry a man who could not pass her in a race. 
Many young men had tried to win her, but had failed. 
Atalanta was so swift of foot that she left them far behind. 

At last Hippomenes, a young man from a neighboring 
country, decided to try his fortune. He loved Atalanta 
and was determined to win the race. On the great day he 
took his place beside the maiden. In his hand he carried 
three golden apples. 

The race began. Atalanta was so sure of winning that 
she let Hippomenes gain a little. Just as she was about to 
pass him, one of the golden apples dropped at her feet. 
Atalanta saw the lovely fruit gleaming in the grass. Quick 
as a flash she stooped, picked it up, and darted on. 

Once again she reached the young man's side. Like the 
wind she passed him. Suddenly a second golden apple 
rolled before her. Atalanta hesitated. Then she grasped 
it quickly and ran on. 

They had almost reached the goal. Atalanta passed 
Hippomenes like an arrow. She was sure she had won the 



152 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

race. She glanced at the ground. There under her feet lay 
another apple, glittering in the sunshine. For one instant 
Atalanta paused and seized the third golden apple. In 
that one instant Hippomenes passed her. The goal was 
reached. The race was won. 

To he used in Part Two, Lesson 22 j in Part Three, Lessons 
63 and 64, and elsewhere as needed. 

X 

Silk 

Silk is made from the cocoons of the silkworm. The 
cocoons are collected in baskets, brought to large tanks, and 
plunged into warm water. The silk thread is then wound 
on a reel. The single thread is too tender for manufacturing 
purposes. Eight, ten, or twelve cocoons are taken up to- 
gether, reeled off, and twisted into one thread. The threads 
are wound into skeins, passed over a charcoal fire, and dried. 
The skeins are taken from the reels, cleaned, and packed in 
bales. These bales are sent to the great silk factories of 
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. There the 
silk is unpacked, dyed, and woven into beautiful cloth. 

To he used in Part One, Lesson 98, in Part Two, Lesson 
5, and elsewhere as needed, 

XI 

Flax 

Flax is a very beautiful plant. The stem of the flax plant 
is tall, slender, and green. It is capped by a cluster of deli- 
cate tassels. Each tassel bears a flower which is handsome, 
large, and bright blue in color. 

The flax plant is useful as well as beautiful. From the 
seed pods we obtain linseed oil. This is used in making ink, 
linoleum, and medicine. The fibers of the stem are made 



DICTATION EXERCISES 153 

into linen. This is the most important product of the 
flax. 

The flax fibers are put through a long, slow, and compli- 
cated firocess before linen can be made. The fibers are first 
soaked in water to destroy the green outer bark. They are 
then loosened, dried, and beaten with a heavy instrument 
to separate them. After this they are combed, bleached, 
and handed over to the spinner, who makes them into linen 
thread. 

To he used in Part Onej Lesson 98 ^ in Part Two, Lesson 22, 
in Part Three, Lesson 63, and elsewhere as needed, 

XII 

The Dark Day 

In a famous poem, Whittier tells the story of the dark day 
in New England. Many years ago, in the middle of a sunny 
May morning, the sky grew black. It soon became so dark 
that people could not see their way along the street. They 
were terrified. ^^The end of the world has come!'' they 
exclaimed to one another. 

In the statehouse sat the wise men of Connecticut. They 
were alarmed by the strange darkness. 

^^It is the day of the Lord,'' said one. 

^^Laws will never be needed," said another. 

^^I move we adjourn," said a third. 

Abraham Davenport rose from his seat. He spoke bravely 
and firmly. ^^This may be the last day God gives us on the 
earth. I do not know, but if it is the last day, I want Him 
to find me at my post doing my duty. " 

By the feeble light of the candles, he began to speak about 
a new law, as if nothing unusual were happening. The 
other lawmakers listened in silence until the darkness passed 
away. 

To he used in Part Two, Lesson ^-i , and elsewhere as needed. 



154 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

XIII 
The Brave Man 

Mr. Smith, who had traveled in Africa, told his friends 
that he had once made fifty Arabs run. All who heard the 
story were amazed. 

^^How could you do such a thing?^' asked one of his friends. 

Mr. Smith answered, '^It was very easy. I ran and they 
ran after me.'' 

To he used in Part Two, Lesson 48, in Part Three, Lesson 
32, and elsewhere as needed, 

XIV 

The Hunter and the Lion 

^^Have you seen any tracks of a lion? " asked a hunter of 
a woodcutter whom he met. 

^•Oh, '' replied the woodcutter, ^^I can show you the lion 
himself.'' 

^^I don't want to see the lion," stammered the hunter. 
^^I only want to see his tracks." 

To he used in Part Three, Lesson 51, and elsewhere as needed. 

XV 

A Cheerful View 

^^ Why do you look so dismal? " asked one bucket of another 
as they were going to the well. 

"I was thinking," replied his companion, '^of the useless- 
ness of our being filled. No matter how full we go away, 
we always come back empty." 

^^How strange to look at it in that way! " answered his 
friend. ^^ Isn't it also true that however empty we come, 
we always go away full? " 

To he used in Part Three, Lesson 51, and elsewhere as 
needed. 



DICTATION EXERCISES 155 

XVI 
Hunting a Wolf 

Every winter an old wolf came to the neighborhood to kill 
the sheep. The hunters tried to shoot her, but she was too 
swift for them. The farmers, toOj tried to catch her in traps, 
but she was too cunning for them. Putnam and his friends 
decided that too many of their flocks had been stolen. They 
agreed that two of them should hunt at a time, and that the 
other tivo should begin as soon as the first two stopped. Thus 
the wolf would be hunted day and night. 

At last the wolf was found in a cave. The men were too 
much afraid of her sharp teeth and claws to try to follow her. 
They attempted to smoke her out, but the cave was too deep. 
Finally Putnam snatched up a piece of burning bark and 
rushed into the hole. The wolf tried to spring, but the fire 
was too bright. She was blinded by the blaze, and Putnam 
shot and killed her. 

To be used in Part Two, Lesson 49, in Part Three, Lesson 
60, and elsewhere as needed, 

XVII 
A Good Food 

The famous Dr. Samuel Johnson once laughed at a Scotch- 
man for living so largely on oatmeal. He said that it was the 
food for horses in England and for men in Scotland. The 
Scot cleverly turned the table on the Englishman. He 
answered quickly, ^^True, and what fine horses you have in 
England, and what fine men we have in Scotland! ^' 

To he used in Part Three, Lesson 12, and elsewhere as needed, 

XVIII 

The Wise Turtle 

A turtle was once captured by some Indian warriors. They 
decided that he should be roasted alive in their camp fire. 



156 MANUAL IN ELEMENTARY ENGLISH 

The turtle cried out cheerfully, ^^Oh, that is a brave death. 
I will trample out your fire/' 

The men changed their plans. They said that they would 
boil him in a kettle over the flames. 

^^Oh, I shall blow clouds of steam in your faces to blind 
you/' exclaimed the turtle joyfully. 

The warriors looked at each other doubtfully. At last one 
of them said, ^^ Why not drop him into the lake? '' 

The turtle seemed very sad. He told them mournfully 
that this was the only death he feared. So the warriors 
threw him into the lake. He sank like a stone. The next 
minute he came to the top of the water and uttered his war 
cry triumphantly. ^^Now I am at home," he said. 

To he used in Part Three, Lessons 32, 60, 75, and elsewhere 
as needed. 



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